The Portland Trail Blazers appear set on holding onto Jrue Holiday for now despite their trade for Ja Morant. That should only be further reason to believe that at least one of Shaedon Sharpe or Scoot Henderson could ultimately be dealt.
Portland's former top-ten draft investments have suddenly become afterthoughts in this rebuild. The true building blocks lie in the frontcourt of Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan.
By bringing in Morant, Portland has another option to find the ideal guard to pair with those frontcourt pieces going forward. They need to consider how Morant, Sharpe, and Henderson fit into that picture, if at all.
Ja Morant trade only worsened Shaedon Sharpe's fit with the Blazers
Despite having four point guards on the roster, it's actually Sharpe who should be the odd man out in Portland.
They just bought low on Morant, and seeing how little they gave Memphis, they wouldn't get anything of significance if they were to flip him.
They still need to decide whether to extend Henderson this summer, but he's made a compelling case to survive the logjam. Scoot has redefined his role to become more of an off-ball guard with an improving 3-and-D game.
Sharpe may fit best positionally, but he's the hardest to make a case for in terms of where he fits into this new-look Blazers roster and offensive hierarchy.
Why Portland should explore trade offers for Shaedon Sharpe
The Blazers reached a four-year, $90 million extension with Sharpe last offseason. Despite being benched midseason by Chauncey Billups, that financial investment suggested he was part of their long-term plans.
That future has gotten murkier after Sharpe largely fell out of Tiago Splitter's playoff rotation, averaging 13.4 minutes per game during that five game series against San Antonio. Afterward, Sharpe clarified that he was fully physically healthy, voicing his frustration about the situation. He also added that Splitter shared the reasoning behind the benching, though declined to share that with the media.
Micah Nori is calling the shots now, which gives Sharpe a fresh start to prove he can finally make more of a two-way impact. But he also faces an uphill battle in terms of the depth chart, especially since he's a bad pairing alongside Morant.
Deni Avdija and Morant are two of the league's most frequent drivers. That's already a concerning overlap, and they'll certainly need more floor spacing around them to help offset it.
Sharpe led the entire team in usage rate last season at 30.5 percent. Portland can't build a contender with him having the ball that frequently, yet there are questions about how a one-dimensional, score-first guard can effectively scale in that diminished role.
The talent and upside should give him trade value for a team eager to take a flier, and if that's the case, Portland needs to really think about the concerns regarding his fit and impact on winning.
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