After finishing with just 33 wins, the Portland Trail Blazers landed the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft lottery. But after missing the playoffs each of the past two seasons, how can another inexperienced rookie help Damian Lillard immediately compete for a chance to win his first NBA championship?
That’s the big question in Portland. Whether they’d rather wait to see if a young prospect has the ability to help lead a sharp turnaround or if the team would be better off trying to trade their top pick for a player who can help win now.
Chances are, trading just the third pick wouldn’t fetch the type of return that allows the Blazers to return to the postseason right away. Not to mention, would the potential they’d be trading away be too damaging for their long-term goals? Possibly even in a life without the soon-to-be 33-year-old Lillard on the roster?
Again, more questions that Portland has to answer. One potential outcome involves the Blazers trying to package the third pick, plus Shaedon Sharpe, the seventh-overall pick from last year’s draft, in an effort to find an offer too good to refuse.
Only, the Blazers don’t seem interested in taking this route to building their roster this offseason. According to Yahoo’s Jake Fischer, Trail Blazers officials have “left teams with the impression that Sharpe is off-limits” in trade discussions.
On one hand, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. Sharpe was just drafted last year, he’s still just 20 years old, and the shooting guard did show a lot of promise in his rookie season, averaging 9.9 points per game while shooting 36% from distance.
On the other hand, if the Blazers aren’t looking to deal Sharpe, does this mean they’re more willing to lean into the youth movement, staying pat at No. 3 and picking another rookie? How will Lillard respond? As you can see, there are plenty of storylines to keep track of in Portland this offseason.