Promising Trail Blazers guard won't play again this season

Shaedon Sharpe won’t play in the last four Trail Blazers games, the team announced on Twitter.

The 20-year guard and 2022 lottery pick hasn’t played since Jan. 11 due to a lower abdominal strain. He was only expected to miss a couple of weeks at that time but he eventually required core muscle surgery in February due to continued discomfort.

Sharpe was expected to return before the end of the season and engaged in full-contact workouts over the last week. However, the team decided not to take any chances. Instead, they’ll let him to return to full strength via continued rehab.

Sharpe appeared in only 32 games (25 starts) this season, averaging 15.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists. He played 80 games (15 starts) as a rookie, averaging 9.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists.

He’ll make $6.6M next season and it’s a near certainty the Trail Blazers will exercise his $8.4M option for the 2025/26 season prior to next season. That would make him extension-eligible for the 2025 offseason.