Shaedon Sharpe showed up to the Trail Blazers fan fest today with his left arm in a sling, just an hour after Portland announced that he will miss the first weeks of the NBA season with a labral tear in his left shoulder.
Shaedon Sharpe has suffered a small posterior labral tear in his left shoulder, an MRI confirmed this week.
Sharpe will begin rehabilitation and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks.
— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) October 5, 2024
The announcement does not mention surgery, and it may not be required depending on the size and location of the tear in the shoulder. Sharpe had a similar injury during the 2022 Summer League, according to Jeff Stotts of In Street Clothes, so he knows how to navigate this injury.
Sharpe played in just 35 games a season ago due to a core muscle injury. This is Portland’s second training camp injury, with Robert Williams missing time due to a strained hamstring.
This season in Portland is about giving their youth heavy minutes and seeing which ones can really play and be part of what the Trail Blazers are trying to build, and who does not. The ultra-athletic Sharpe is at the top of that watch list, along with Scoot Henderson, players the Blazers believe can be anchors in future seasons but need to stay healthy and show it. Sharpe also will be extension-eligible after this season, putting a little more pressure on that decision point.
Nothing is official, but Sharpe might have started next to Anfernee Simons in an athletic backcourt, with Henderson the first guy off the bench. Now Henderson likely moves into the starting five, what he does with that opportunity will be the question.
