Shaedon Sharpe was the Portland Trail Blazers' second-highest scorer and had the highest usage rate on the entire roster this season. It's safe to say he was a key part of their offense in what was a career year.
So why didn't he play a larger role in the postseason?
Sharpe essentially fell out of Tiago Splitter's rotation in their first-round series against the San Antonio Spurs. His postseason averages were just 7.2 points in 13.4 minutes per game -- a drastic decline from the 20.8 points and 29.4 minutes he averaged in the regular season.
Shaedon Sharpe may not be part of Portland's long-term plans
With just two games remaining in the regular season, Sharpe returned from a left calf strain that progressed into a left fibula stress reaction. It was unclear if he'd even return this year at all. We thought injuries may have played a factor in Splitter's controversial decision. However, in the Blazers' end-of-season exit interview, Sharpe made it clear that he was fully healthy in the playoffs and that he feels good.
"It was frustrating," Sharpe said about his reduced role in the postseason.
He added that Splitter gave him the reason behind the decision, but declined to share that with the media. If it wasn't an injury that led to Sharpe's minutes decrease, then the Blazers have a serious problem on their hands.
As the No. 7 overall pick in 2022, Sharpe was their first top-ten draft pick of this entire rebuild. The first time they make the playoffs during their rebuild, Portland can't even rely on that supposed building block?
Our best guess is that the decision is related to Sharpe's lackluster defense. That was the same issue that led to his benching under Chauncey Billups last season, though Billups was much more transparent in that being the flaw preventing Sharpe from starting.
That seemed like a more positive decision, as Sharpe responded relatively well to the benching for the rest of the season. This one isn't as black-and-white as it could have major ramifications for how Portland approaches the summer.
At the exit interview, Blazers general manager Joe Cronin made it clear he wasn't going to sacrifice the entire future to a win-now move. But that doesn't necessarily mean Portland won't trade away one piece of their young core to land a star. As these playoffs have shown, if they do trade part of that youth, Sharpe would likely be the odd man out.
If he were fully healthy and still seeing those limited minutes in the playoffs, Portland certainly can't view him as off-limits this summer.
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