The Portland Trail Blazers’ Shaedon Sharpe has gone strength-to-strength since joining the NBA as the 7th overall pick of the 2022 draft. After a strong campaign last time around that saw him average 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, Sharpe is set to enter the 2025-26 season knowing that he will be a restricted free agent next summer.
However, according to Jake Fischer at The Stein Line, Sharpe is currently seen as the most probable rookie-scale player to secure an extension before the October 21 deadline.
“Shaedon Sharpe may be the most likely rookie extension still in play to cross the finish line. Given Sharpe's strong preseason play and tantalizing scoring potential, multiple teams we consulted still project Portland and Sharpe to find an agreement in the ballpark of the four-year, $100 million contract that Giddey ultimately secured in Chicago,” he wrote.
In four preseason games thus far, Sharpe has averaged 19.3 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game while shooting at over 45% overall. The 22-year-old is his team’s leading scorer and is considered highly likely to sign an extension around the $100 million mark that Josh Gidder signed with the Chicago Bulls.
This figure ($25 million annually) positions Sharpe in the tier of developing, high-upside guards who haven’t yet become All-Stars but project to be elite scorers or secondary playmakers. The Blazers’ decision to move Jrue Holiday and commit to a rebuild around Henderson and Sharpe makes such an extension logical.
It also protects them from spending more money potentially next season as Sharpe becomes a restricted free agent. That means the Rockets will potentially have to at least match offers from other teams, opening up a potential bidding war.
Hence, it appears to be in the franchise's best interest to lock him down in the current offseason. Regardless, as things stand, the Rockets have not yet made their move.
