It's very early on in the season, but so far, Shaedon Sharpe's underwhelming and inefficient play isn't justifying the Portland Trail Blazers' decision to extend him.
Prior to the start of the 2025-26 NBA season, the Blazers decided to extend guard Sharpe to a four-year, $90 million deal. This was a fair balance between the player Sharpe currently is and what he could eventually become, given his age (22) and star potential.
Signs were pointing to a breakout season for Sharpe, who had an extremely promising training camp. Portland wanted to get ahead of this financially before letting the market determine his value as a restricted free agent.
With Anfernee Simons out of the picture and Scoot Henderson out to start the season, many pointed to Sharpe as the player to step in Portland's backcourt to fill the offensive void. He's not achieving that so far, but it's not for a lack of trying, as Sharpe is averaging 17.5 field goal attempts through two games. The issue is, it's at the expense of Portland's offense, as he's shooting an abysmal 28.6% from the field and 26.7% from beyond the arc.
Despite his extension, Portland must wonder if Shaedon Sharpe fits their long-term plans
Sharpe is inevitably due for positive regression, but he needs to drastically improve his shooting in order for Portland's front office to come away as the winners of this extension. His three-point efficiency has trended in the wrong direction every single year since entering the league: 36.0%, 33.3%, 31.1%, and now 26.7%.
The Blazers have struggled with shooting as a collective unit, putting them at a significant disadvantage given the analytical value of the three-ball in the modern NBA.. Having an inefficient shooting guard is only going to make it that much more difficult for Portland to address this fatal flaw in its young core.
But it's not just the shooting, it's also the decision-making and shot selection. Sharpe forced the issue too early on with contested midrange jumpers. He's already proven capable of making those difficult shots, but it goes against the style that Chauncey Billups and now Tiago Spittler want Portland to play.
The Blazers had addition by subtraction this offseason after moving on from Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton. As a result, they were emphasizing a more team-oriented style of offense built around more overall movement. From that standpoint, Sharpe gets in the way of what they are trying to accomplish as possessions too frequently die when the ball touches his hands.
Part of this is because of Sharpe's role in the offense. To a certain extent, he's doing too much because Portland has very few other playmakers or shot creators on this roster, especially with the key backcourt injuries.
Sharpe still has plenty of time to turn things around in his young career. He also already looks significantly improved on the defensive end, which is refreshing, as that was one of the main concerns regarding whether Portland should commit to him long-term this summer.
But if Sharpe can't improve his shooting and inefficient level of play on the offensive end, it leaves Portland to wonder how he fits into their long-term plans -- despite the recent extension.