The Portland Trail Blazers have a guard logjam after their polarizing blockbuster trade for Ja Morant. It appears they're fine with that, at least for the time being.
Portland has reportedly said they currently have no plans to trade Jrue Holiday, believing his versatility can help sort out this mess. They could even potentially start him at small forward alongside the undersized backcourt of Morant and Damian Lillard, depending on what direction new head coach Micah Nori wants to take.
Portland doesn't seem to have a sense of urgency in terms of finding a better roster balance. Despite the trade for Morant, that suggests they are willing to take a step back in the short term to better position themselves for the long term. Instead of making an all-in move to contend with Damian Lillard's closing window, they are remaining patient to position themselves when the time comes that their young core reaches its collective prime.
But what does that young core entail, and more specifically, who are Portland's true building blocks?
Ja Morant trade makes Portland's building blocks clear
GM Joe Cronin may be looking towards the future, and understandably so, but in the process he's also hinted at what that future could look like. The Blazers are hoping they address backcourt question marks in the aggregate, signaling their confidence in the frontcourt going forward.
Their moves this offseason are only further confirmation that Donovan Clingan, Deni Avdija, and Toumani Camara are the building blocks -- and borderline untouchables -- going forward. They've become more important than ever as Portland has surprisingly transitioned to a guard-heavy, even offensive-minded roster.
By process of elimination, the futures of the Blazers' young core that remain uncertain are their young guards, Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe.
Blazers still have question marks in the backcourt
It's quite the surprising development for a team that initially planned on rebuilding around these two guards, former top-ten picks who jump-started this entire process. Portland even picked Henderson's timeline over Lillard's, selecting him No. 3 overall the same year they traded their franchise icon.
Not to say that was the wrong decision, especially after seeing how well the trade with Milwaukee is aging with Giannis Antetokounmpo now in Miami. Still, it's an unconventional rebuild in Portland, as the majority of their building blocks have been acquired via trade rather than draft, revealing where Cronin's true strengths lie.
It remains to be seen whether the Blazers have another trade on the horizon after the Morant blockbuster. It could be in their best interest to stay patient, giving this group of guards a chance to prove themselves before reevaluating things before February's trade deadline.
Their entire backcourt has respective questions to answer this 2026-27 season, whether it's Morant's resurgence, Lillard returning to form, or Henderson and Sharpe approaching their ceilings by applying their potential on a more consistent basis.
Portland is hoping Morant returns close to the two-time All-Star he was in Memphis, which is at least a calculated bet considering how little they gave up in the trade. But if Morant does start off strong, it could potentially spell the end of Sharpe or Henderson's time in Portland.
They'd have no reason to keep every single guard around, considering the diminishing returns regarding positional and skill redundancy. That said, the player Portland could potentially move in that case may surprise fans.
The immediate solution would be to trade Henderson, given the fact that they now have four starting-caliber point guards on the roster. However, it may be Sharpe who is the worse fit with this roster in that scenario, making him the more logical trade candidate.
Why the Blazers could move on from Shaedon Sharpe
That's something Blazers insider Sean Highkin recently brought up on the Wake Up RipCity! podcast, noting that he sees Sharpe as the cleaner trade-consolidation option for the Blazers to balance the roster. He highlights Henderson's newfound ability to play off-ball, given his development as a 3-and-D guard.
Between Deni Avdija and now Morant, Portland's offensive initiators are incredibly reliant on getting downhill, to the point where it's a major flaw in their roster construction. But assuming Morant is around for the long haul, the best way to address this is to surround them with shooters and floor spacing. You know, the one thing Cronin said was a priority this offseason but somehow managed to make worse.
Sharpe is not quite a three-level scorer due to his inconsistent three-point shooting, hovering around 33 percent over the past three seasons. Meanwhile, Henderson has shown progress in that aspect, improving to 35 percent the past two years. It's clear he's the far better defender than Sharpe as well, benefiting from Holiday's arrival in particular.
So while, from a positional standpoint, it makes sense to trade Henderson and keep Sharpe, it's actually the opposite when you look at skill sets and roster needs.
We'll see what Portland ultimately decides to do as they have flexibility to take this roster in several directions. It's also worth noting that Henderson is eligible for a rookie-scale extension this summer, which means Portland may have to decide on sorting out this logjam quicker than they had hoped.
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