One of the biggest storylines to monitor for the Portland Trail Blazers leading up to the 2025-26 regular season is whether or not they extend shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe. Whether it's in the form of an extension or restricted free agency next summer, Portland must eventually commit to its rising star.
Sharpe is reportedly the one standout performer so far in Blazers training camp, which should make Portland much more comfortable signing him to a long-term deal.
Blazers must invest in Shaedon Sharpe's upside
What that exactly entails is still up in the air. At media day, general manager Joe Cronin said the Blazers are open to the idea of committing to Sharpe long-term, but didn't go into detail, preferring to keep the negotiations private.
"I think the way we're building this roster and the commitment level we have to all of our young guys, we're very open-minded," Cronin said. "If it makes sense for both them and us, we're very open-minded to taking this out very long-term."
Between Sean Highkin of The Rose Garden Report and Joe Freeman of The Oregonian/OregonLive, multiple sources have now said that they don't expect an extension to get done before the start of the season.
The Blazers are projected to have significant cap space next summer, and it could make sense for them to maneuver the cap by adding another piece before inking Sharpe to a new deal. But at the same time, all signs are pointing to a breakout campaign for Sharpe this season.
As training camp has shown, Sharpe is finally putting all that talent and athleticism together to become a more complete player. Portland will need to generate offense from new sources this season with starters Anfernee Simons and Deandre Ayton now elsewhere, and Sharpe seems ready to step into an increased role.
With Scoot Henderson's injury and Jerami Grant's declining play, there's a legitimate pathway for Sharpe to earn a starting spot. Chauncey Billups benched Sharpe because of his lackluster defense last season, but Billups even mentioned how much better Sharpe is doing on that side of the ball at training camp.
Sharpe has arguably the highest ceiling on Portland's entire roster if he can become a better defender and improve his three-point shooting. Signing him to an extension before the season would be betting on his potential. You'd have to factor the player Sharpe could become, not the player he currently is, into the price. From that standpoint, it could be in Portland's best interest to get ahead of his contract before he truly breaks out.
We've seen how messy restricted free agency can get this offseason, with Jonathan Kuminga's situation finally getting resolved, among others. Sharpe somewhat fits that same category of restricted free agents we saw this summer as an athletic, score-first player who isn't well-rounded. However, the important thing to consider regarding Sharpe is that he's just 22 years old and didn't even have a college season to develop. He was the top-ranked recruit in the 2022 class before reclassifying. He's oozing with potential and has that "it factor" as someone with a smoothness to his game that only stars typically possess.
For a Blazers team that desperately needs more star power to contend in the Western Conference, committing to Sharpe long-term should be a no-brainer. And his recent training camp play just solidified that.