I know this is divisive so let me start by saying. I love Shaedon. I love watching him float and I truly believe he WILL be a really high quality NBA player and potentially a star.
But RIGHT NOW, he’s a major issue for us in the rotation. He shoots well and is a great finisher but his instincts off the ball are not great yet. In addition, his defensive rotations are a major issue. You can take a look at his +/- numbers and his advanced defensive numbers for evidence of this. I keep saying that I can’t wait to see him with a full offseason of NBA coaching and training. The potential is so so high. But right now, his minutes on the court generally cost us. I think there is a decent chance that a majority of his minutes go to GP when he’s back.
In addition, I don’t think we should completely rule out trading Shaedon for immediate help. I completely concede that we would potentially be trading a future star for an immediate high level role player and I know on the surface that seems silly, but I do think we should “go for it” with the squad we have now. I think we are teetering as a mid-level playoff team.
No I’m not certain that the deal would result in contending, I think it’s worth trying with our franchise best player.
For example, if the Raptors decide to sell I think we should be offering Shaedon in packages for OG or Siakam. I think he holds decent value across the league based on his shooting, athleticism and age. I think it’s a chip we should be dangling.
Thoughts? Comments? Concerns? Or just flame me in the comments! Whatever works! 😂
EDIT: I don’t want to bench Sharpe. I don’t want to rehire Stotts. I’m not saying Sharpe doesn’t deserve time to develop. I don’t think Sharpe is a bum. I believe in him too. I think he will be really good (as I said in my post).
Here is his +/- which is the worst on the team: https://www.statmuse.com/nba/ask/highest-plus-minus-this-season-by-a-portland-player
His advanced plus minus is like -6.2 which is one of the worst of players getting 15+ mpg and the next closest on the team is -4.5 for Winslow. Every starter on our team is positive in advance plus-minus.
by thatkellenguy
22 Comments
He’s a 19 year old who’s played 30 NBA games after no college ball.
Let’s stop with the things he isn’t good at, and enjoy the stuff that he’s already great at.
No flaming at all, a valid thought for sure.
I’m not sure if it is possible to pull off the straddling of right now vs. future Rip City, but guess I’m not seeing Shaedon being a true lever in a deal that puts us over the top for the “now” to justify losing out on the potential.
He’s not why we lose games. But yes. I agree he has some work to do to get better.
We’re missing Nas and GP2. If you cut Sharpe’s minutes, then you’re playing more of Watford. Watford has been good here and there but he’s also young, inexperienced and isn’t an obvious upgrade day in, day out.
Might as well let our most talented shooter off the bench get more playing time. We’re going to need him if we ever make a deep playoff run.
If you want to trade him, you’re also giving up Ant as a young player and salary match.
I think you bring up valid point about his defense especially – he really does get lost horribly off the ball. That being said we don’t have a ton of other options off the bench because we can’t afford to play yet another non shooter. With Winslow and Eubanks already coming off the bench, we *have* to play 3 shooters at the other positions and therefore Sharpe has to play.
I personally think it’s less about development than this ^ but obviously, the development doesn’t hurt either. That being said, at least he doesn’t actively seem to be costing games.
If the Blazers could get two players like OG and Siakam straight up for Sharpe, then you’d obviously do it. But in addition to the salaries not even coming close to matching, the Raptors would never do it. Unless a superstar becomes available and the Blazers best asset leaving is Sharpe, it would make no sense to trade him.
I do agree that he has not been good in the rotation for the past month. My hope is that when GP2 comes back, he takes the bulk of Shapes minutes. I’d also love to see Keon and Sharpe compete for the final rotation minutes. But that shouldn’t negate the fact that Sharpe is still ahead of schedule, I don’t think many people thought he’d play as much as he has, and he has been a legitimately impactful player at times. I still think he has the highest ceiling of anyone on this team, so thinking about moving him would be incredibly short sighted unless the move clearly moved the Blazers into the championship discussion for the next few years.
Youre talking about trading away a possible generational talent.
You’re right that he’s not quite ready for prime time in many ways. You’re 100% wrong that we should trade him, on so many levels (trading a potential future all-star, the fact that he makes a rookie salary and therefore would bring back nobody useful with matching salaries).
GP2, when and if he ever actually plays, will take Shaedon’s minutes this season anyway.
Stop. He’s 19 and played 30 games in the last 2 years and those 30 games have been against the worlds best. He’s still learning the game. Having a leader like Dame and player coach he will be fine. He is literally learning on the job. This is a different game for him. You wanna trade a future superstar? You sir are tripping and over thinking. And that’s the thing people keep saying we need to do this or that. But what if those moves fail badly? You people will be like oh we shouldn’t have done this or that. Then Sharpe becomes a superstar and you years later are like why did we trade him? We could had him. So chill and enjoy the process. You are too worried about the end goal
If he’s still like this and getting big minutes in April, yeah that’s an issue. Right now he is getting his legs, and doing a great job of it. But every rookie hits the wall eventually. Just hang in, he’s going to be really good.
Maybe your post should of been about firing Chauncey and rehiring Stotts. Stotts definitely would have him on the bench. He loved having Ant on the bench and not getting him action on the court to learn.
I think the most valid and perhaps obvious response here is:
1) His salary falls way short of what we would need to match (dumb ass oversight on my part)
2) He’s not going to garner a big name borderline all star.
For everyone suggesting I want to glue Sharpe to the bench, I don’t. And to everyone who says “you can’t trade him he’s a generational talent, future superstar, etc.” — none of us know if he will get anywhere close to his potential. Jonathan Bender was going to change the power forward position in the NBA, nothing is for sure. He could be Vince Carter or he could be Gerald Green. We simply don’t know. He’s 19 and 30 games in as you all aptly stated so the future is a gigantic unknown. I agree that the risk might be better off taking then trading him away, that’s the point of discussion though.
I think the issue is that, unless we’re talking about a bona-fide star, you’re talking pretty marginal improvements here. Take Siakam for instance. Really good player, but I don’t think he’s a big improvement on Grant. Maybe not an improvement at all. He’s a lot less efficient offensively overall, and a below average 3 point shooter. Makes up for this with defense and better rebounding, along with higher scoring (I think he’d actually score less here, as we wouldn’t have him taking 18 shots a game versus Grant’s 15). It’s certainly not a difference I’d be willing to lose Sharpe over.
He’s playing through a finger injury. He might get cut out of the rotation in the playoffs if his shot continues to look bad but if he can return to his pre injury form than he’ll be good.
Even with his problems, his strengths make him a rotation player
Stop Redditing
dude give him time. he’s gonna be better than OG or Siakam just have some patience. also we need young guys on rookie deals because of dames massive, well deserved contract
One thing to keep in mind… As long as the Western Conference is jammed up, wins and losses aren’t the only objective right now. There is not a team right now in the West the Blazers can’t compete with in a 7 game series regardless of our seed. (I’m not saying we would be the favorite in any matchup)
Why not develop your #7 pick and play through the mistakes while the over-all goal of making the playoffs isn’t in jeopardy.
Nice but other than Sharpes highlight dunks, his game has fallen off a clif in the last 5 weeks. Zero effort on D. Minimal emotion. Just doesn’t really seem to care out there. Concerning.
I 100% agree with this post, the championship window is short and I think we need to swing for the fences. Sharpe has potential, but also has flaws and I think drive is one of them.
If Toronto have Siakam or OG on the table it’s a deal you need to take if it doesn’t involve much more than Sharpe and fillers. I think you might be able to get Golden State involved to get GP2 back for Wiseman. Toronto to get Sharpe, Wiseman, filler and a pick could work.
I think all of this will change when GP2 comes back and Keon takes his spot in the rotation. I think he’d actually benefit from a quick stint at the G-league level where he can get into more of the game flow and not be worried about getting yanked.
Generally speaking though, I think this is actually the table-setting year for next year, when there will be some player movement and roster balance. This year is about getting his development going in earnest.
Remember that most guys with tools like Shae’s actually struggle more than their peers because they’re not 8 levels above their competition anymore.
People used to say the same about a 19 year old ant