Slowly but surely, the future of the Portland Trail Blazers is beginning to take shape.

Over a year has passed since they traded away their longtime franchise player Damian Lillard and though they are poised to miss the playoffs for the fourth consecutive season, some greenshoots have begun to surface for this team.

Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, Donovan Clingan, and more recently, Shaedon Sharpe have shown promise and seem like they have what it takes to become long term building blocks for the Blazers. 

Sharpe, in particular, has been one of the biggest surprises for them this year, averaging a career-best 17.3 points per game despite averaging less minutes this season (29.6) compared with the prior campaign (33.1). He was actually expected to have a breakout year last season following the departure of Lillard, although his campaign was cut short due to an abdominal injury as he managed to play in only 32 contests for Portland.

This same injury sidelined Sharpe for the first few weeks of this season, but when he finally found his rhythm, there was no turning back. After scoring in single digits in two of his first three games, Sharpe strung together 32 consecutive outings with at least 10 points, including two where he had over 32 points. 

Overall, the 21-year-old has scored in double digits in 47 of his 51 games this season, with his latest game being his finest one yet. Sharpe set a new career-best in the Blazers’ 129-121 win over the Washington Wizards as he came off the bench to score 36 points on 13-of-26 shooting. His special night went beyond scoring, as he also tallied eight rebounds, five assists, a steal, and a block. 

The 6’6 guard also made it to the night’s highlight reel with a powerful dunk over Washington’s Justin Champagnie that some already consider the best one of the year.

The scoring ability of Sharpe, coupled with his elite combination of size and athleticism, makes him one of the most intriguing young players in the league today. If he can improve his shooting efficiency–he currently shoots 44.6% from the field, 32.1% on three-pointers, and makes only 79.5% of his free throws–by even just a bit, he could very well end up becoming the next face of this Portland franchise. 

One of the most obvious ways that he can improve is by strengthening his physique as he weighs only 200 lbs which makes it easy for his defenders to push him around. Once he can get his weight closer to the 220 lbs area where all-time great players with similar physical attributes such as Kobe Bryant and Vince Carter were during their prime years, there’s no telling what Sharpe’s ceiling will be.

This season may be a lost one for the Blazers in terms of playoff contention, but the progress that they have made with their young core has made this difficult campaign worthwhile. This final stretch of the regular season will be crucial for them heading into the offseason as they determine which players are worth building around for the long haul. 

There’s still a long way to go before this team can revisit the highs that it had during the Lillard area, though at the very least, players such as Sharpe have given their fanbase something to be hopeful for in the years to come.