The Shaedon Sharpe conundrum that will define the Trail Blazers’ rebuild

Based on the initial estimated recovery timeline given when Shaedon Sharpe suffered another small labrum tear in his left shoulder, the Portland Trail Blazers will get their high-flying guard back sometime this month. Sharpe’s injury occurred on October 5th and the reported time frame was 4-6 weeks.

He’s still not cleared for Portland’s game against New Orleans (although Robert Williams III has been upgraded to questionable), but it sounds like Sharpe should be back within the next week or two, with the 16th. The latest return date is November. At least based on the estimates.

When Sharpe returns, head coach Chauncey Billups will have to make a difficult decision about who should start. It has already been a challenge without Sharpe as Scoot Henderson is currently a substitute and has made a strong case to be promoted to the starting XI despite his recent inconsistent play.

Scoot and Sharpe are the two most important factors in the success of the Blazers’ rebuild. GM Joe Cronin mentioned that the leaps they and Donovan Clingan make will determine the timeline of their rebuilding process.

“We are still in the early stages [of rebuilding] Just because there is still so much to prove with this group. A lot of this depends on what your young people are capable of and when they will be ready. We’ve invested heavily in draft selection over the last three years with Shaedon, Scoot and now Donovan. Until these guys take steps and play successful basketball, we’re not going to win at the level we need to. Part of it is on them.

Of all the players on the Blazers’ roster, Sharpe arguably has the best chance of becoming an All-Star. While he has shown signs of this in his first two seasons so far, Sharpe has yet to put it all together.

Unfortunately, a large portion of that was due to a core muscle injury that caused him to miss 50 games last season. If Sharpe returns, he could finally have the breakout season that Blazers fans have been waiting for. One potential obstacle is that Portland doesn’t prepare its up-and-coming players particularly well for success, relegating them to bench positions or, in some cases, limited minutes while questionably retaining veterans on their rebuilding roster.

Prioritizing Sharpe should be at the forefront of any decisions both Cronin and Billups make for the remainder of the season. The 2022 draft class will be eligible for rookie-scale extensions next year, and the Blazers need to figure out exactly what they have in Sharpe before making such a big decision.