Shaedon Sharpe and Scoot Henderson couldn't be headed in more opposite directions

The Portland Trail Blazers have had a top-ten pick in three consecutive years. They selected Shaedon Sharpe (No. 7 overall) in 2022, Scoot Henderson (No. 3 in 2023), and Donovan Clingan (No. 7 this past summer). On the surface, that's an excellent foundation for a rebuilding team in their second season of life without superstar Damian Lillard on their roster.

But it's one thing to have high draft picks; capitalizing on them is a whole separate feat. Sharpe has had a relatively limited sample size, playing just 32 games last season before undergoing surgery for a core muscle injury. He also missed the Blazers' first eight games of this season due to a left shoulder tear. Sharpe is still only 21 years old and has plenty of untapped potential, so it seems premature to declare this a make-or-break season, especially since Portland doesn't have playoff aspirations.

Shaedon Sharpe is seizing his opportunity in a crucial year

But on the other hand, it's an extremely pivotal year for Sharpe and the Blazers, as they will have to decide on a potential rookie-scale contract extension after the season. The Blazers need to keep Sharpe around by almost any means necessary, but prior to this season, his potential was more hypothetical, making it a risky proposition for Portland to extend him.

Now, Sharpe is finally healthy. He's averaged 18.0 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 1.9 assists per game, including back-to-back 30-point games during the Blazers' three-game winning streak in mid-November. Those averages don't tell the whole story, as it took Sharpe a few games to get back in rhythm. He's showing why he's the most essential piece in Portland's rebuild.

Scoot Henderson still has a ways to go

Scoot Henderson, on the other hand, has been more discouraging than encouraging. In his rookie season, Henderson looked like an entirely different player post All-Star break. His numbers during that stretch were 16.6 points, 7.1 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. He was even shooting the three-ball at a 35 percent clip. There was plenty of optimism surrounding Henderson's second season. Guards typically take longer to adjust to the NBA, and he showed enough flashes towards the end of 2023-24 to consider him a key foundational piece in the Blazers' rebuild.

With Sharpe ruled out for multiple weeks to start the 2024-25, it seemed like Henderson was going to have an opportunity to get the keys to the franchise and run with it. Instead, he's statistically having an even worse season so far than he did as a rookie. Scoot is averaging 11.3 points and 5.2 assists per game. That's not horrible for a 20-year-old. But the fact that he had such high expectations as a former No. 3 overall pick, combined with his inefficiencies -- shooting 28.3 percent from three along with 3.2 turnovers per game -- add more context to make it all that more concerning.

Henderson still has plenty of time to turn things around in his career, and hopefully, he does for both his and the Blazers' sake. But the longer he plays like this, the harder it will be for him to break out, as his minutes and role within the offense will become more limited.