The Blazers Just Bet It All on Shaedon Sharpe

The Blazers Just Bet It All on Shaedon Sharpe

The Portland Trailblazers are coming off a 36- win season. Things quietly seem to be trending in the right direction until Joe Cronin shocks his fan base by trading away 26-year-old Anthony Simons, the team’s leading scorer from last season to the Celtics. The reaction has been similar to the Warriors in 2012. They are perplexed, heartbroken, and pissed off. What they don’t realize is that they’ve already got their next star on their roster in the form of Shaden Sharp. This trade is going to unlock him in a way the league isn’t ready for. Just hear me out. The date was March 13th, 2012. The Golden State Warriors decided to make a franchise altering trade by shipping Montto Ellis to Milwaukee in a deal that brought Andrew Bogat. Montellis was Golden State’s leading scorer and was still just 26 years old. He was an electrifying slasher who was loved in Oakland. Warriors fans booed Joe Lacob in Oracle after the deal was announced. What they didn’t realize at the time was that until Mont Ellis was gone, they wouldn’t be able to unlock Steph Curry as the star of the team. The deal also paved the way for Klay Thompson to get inserted into the lineup as the starting shooting guard. Turns out the fans were totally wrong. This bold trade brilliantly paved the way for the greatest dynasty in modern history. Fast forward to July 2025. Sharp comes back and attacks the rack and leaves a cobra on his helmet. On the surface, Sharp looks like the kind of player who leaves you wanting more. He’s freakishly athletic and shows glimpses of stardom, but has been plagued with inconsistency. He’s never averaged three assists per game in his young career, and he’s a poor three-point shooter as well. Last year, Sharp shot 31% on 6.6 three-point attempts per game. dreadful. But these aren’t the numbers you should be looking at when assessing Sharp’s future outlook. Jaden Sharp played the entire season at age 21. He turned 22 in May after Portland’s season finished. Amongst players under age 23, Sharp finished fifth in the NBA in points per game. But what’s more impressive is how Sharp scored. Fans who put too much focus on his three-point shooting numbers lose sight of just how incredibly efficient Sharp was for his age this year. To better understand what we mean, take a look at this chart, which lists the best shooting guards in the NBA and compares their stats during their age 21 season. The higher up they are, the more points they averaged. The further to the right, the more efficient they were, measured by effective field goal percentage. As you can see, Sharp was middle of the pack in scoring, ranking six out of 10. Not bad at all when considering who we’re comparing him to. But what is more impressive is how efficiently he scored the ball. Sharp had an effective field goal percentage of 51.9% only trailing Jaylen Brown and Anthony Edwards as 21-year-olds, which almost seems impossible considering his poor three-point shooting and high volume. So, we had to dig deeper and figure out what was truly elite in Sharp’s game at this young age. First and foremost, Sharp is an elite athlete, one of the most explosive leapers in the game. But not only can Shaden Sharp fill a room with posters, he’s also got one of the most acrobatic packages of layup moves. Amongst all players who played guard at some point last year, according to NBA.com, who attempted at least three shots per game in the restricted area, Sharp had the fifth best finishing rate in the league. But let’s go back to our chart of elite shooting guards in the game and see how they fared at the rim during their age 21 seasons. The higher up, the more aggressively they attack the rim. Sharp rings fourth behind just Jaylen Brown, Ant Edwards, and SGA. However, the further the right the player is on the chart, the higher their field goal percentage was once they got there. And this is where Sharp scored off the charts. By far the best finisher at the rim of any of these shooting guards at age 21. Pretty incredible. Speaks volumes about this kid’s unique level of talent. But don’t be fooled. Sharp isn’t just a slasher. Amongst players who finished as guards and made at least one mid-range shot per game last year, Sharp had the seventh highest field goal percentage in the league. The mid-ranger is particularly interesting because the guys who shoot well from this range tend to have really good feel and touch. Guys who can naturally find ways to get buckets. It almost contrasts with the perception that Sharp is just an elite athlete without refinement to his game. And this also lines up with his outstanding touch on layups near the rim. Let’s take a look at how his mid-range game compares in efficiency to the other great shooting guards when they were Sharp’s age. For this stat, we measured all shots taken outside of the restricted zone, but inside the three-point line. Almost surprisingly, Sharp ranks fourth in this category, only behind SGA, D Rozan, and Tyler Hero. Evidence that Sharp might actually be a better shooter than we realize. Well, Jaden Sharp was hot, cold, and streaky from three this past year, but he definitely showed upside. From December 21st to March 1st, Sharp played 33 games. And during that stretch, he shot 36.1% from three, which is basically league average. During that stretch of games, Portland had an 18 and 15 record or a winning percentage of 55%. Sharp shot those numbers while attempting over six three-point shots per game. And these weren’t easy shots either. Nearly 30% of Sharp’s three-point attempts this year were off the dribble, which is way harder than shooting stationary. Shaden Sharp scored at least 20 points in 31 games last year. In games where he scored at least 20 points, the Blazers had an 18 and 13 record. Further proving that Sharp’s involvement in the offense is a key ingredient for the Trailblazers. Actually, last season, Shaden Sharp played way better when Anthony Simons was out of the lineup with injury. And I mean way better. Sharp played in 10 games without Anthony Simons last year. And in those games, he was nothing short of unworldly with averages of nearly 28 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game. Lo and behold, the Blazers had a 7 and3 record in those games. Lillard won’t be healthy this year, which will allow Sharp to develop in the star role. And Lillard is already a proven star, unlike Simons. He is no longer focused on personal accolades. He wants to win and fully realizes that Sharp is going to need to become an all-star in order for that to happen. Simons was already the man when Sharp entered the league, much like Mont Ellis was when Curry entered the league. Those social dynamics are really hard to overcome. It’s not that Anthony Simons is a bad player. He’s got loads of skill and probably has a great career ahead of him, but it’s time for a changing of the guard in Portland, and they are ready to hand the keys to Shaden Sharp. The recent trade might not have been nearly as bad as a lot of fans think. Thanks for watching. If you like this video, be sure to give it a thumbs up and subscribe to Sports Insight. [Music]

The Portland Trail Blazers made a move that shocked fans by trading Anfernee Simons for an aging Jrue Holiday. But what if that deal was less about Holiday and more about Shaedon Sharpe?

This video explains why Portland is betting their future on Sharpe and why the numbers say it might actually work. Drop a comment and let us know if you think he’s ready to take the leap.

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