With Damian Lillard gone, all eyes are on Scoot Henderson as the Portland Trail Blazers embark on official preparations for 2023-24. The rookie point guard isn't the team's only young building block turning heads at Blazers training camp in Santa Barbara, though.

Coach Chauncey Billups loves what he's seen from sophomore guard Shaedon Sharpe so far, who entered the NBA last season as the most inexperienced player in the league.

“Lightyears ahead,” Billups said of Sharpe's development on Tuesday. “I mean, Shae was asking me questions at the start of not even training camp but last season, if this player—I'm not gonna name the player—if he can shoot. This guy is maybe one of the best shooters in the league. He just had no understanding, didn't watch a lot of NBA basketball. Now, he's the one talking on the back line of the defense and he's telling Scoot to stink when he's out of position. Shae is lightyears ahead of where he was last year. He's aggressive on the offensive end, he's attacking off the dribble. It's almost like he grew two years in one.”

Portland's utmost priority this season isn't winning games. After finally honoring Lillard's trade request by moving him to the Milwaukee Bucks last week, the Blazers are one of just four teams in a loaded Western Conference not thirsting for the postseason in 2023-24.

But Sharpe's progress is extremely encouraging regardless, especially given his relatively underwhelming performance at Las Vegas Summer League in July. Very few off-guards or smaller wings standing 6'6 boast his blend of explosive athleticism, natural shooting prowess and burgeoning skill with the ball. The 20-year-old flashed those traits throughout his up-and-down rookie season, a campaign that sparked extra optimism considering Sharpe's highest previous level of in-game competition was Canadian high school ball.

The new-look Blazers are a long, long way from scraping their ceiling The more Sharpe improves before even closely approaching his prime, though, the higher that team-wide peak will stand.

[h/t Twitter user @KY_PDX]