Blazers Injury Report: Young Star Tears Shoulder, Out 4-6 Weeks

Portland is getting banged up in a hurry this year.

Dec 14, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; Utah Jazz forward Simone Fontecchio (16) shoots the ball over Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe (17) during the first half at Moda Center. Mandatory Credit: Soobum Im-Imagn Images / Soobum Im-Imagn Images

The Portland Trail Blazers are getting banged up in a hurry this year.

After undergoing six team practices in four days for some reason this past week, the team is suddenly the walking wounded. Three Blazers players are skipping the team's ongoing "Fan Fest" on Saturday, and it sounds like two are dealing with long-term ailments.

Read More: 3 Portland Players Won't Participate in Fan Fest Saturday

Veteran reserve center Robert Williams III is already shelved due to a Grade 1 hamstring strain injury. Now, projected starting shooting guard Shaedon Sharpe is set to join him on Portland's bench — and seems likely to be out for even longer.

Per NBA insider Marc Stein, imaging on the 6-foot-6 swingman's left shoulder verified that he had suffered a "small posterior labral tear" during training camp. Per Stein, Portland believes Sharpe could miss the next 4-to-6 weeks of action. On the longer side of that projection, that means Sharpe could miss nearly a month of regular season activity.

This is far from the ideal start to the Trail Blazers' season, at least as far as head coach Chauncey Billups is concerned. Billups is likely coaching for his job, as he failed to negotiate and extension with the club over the summer. Portland has a team option on the fifth and final season of his deal, for 2025-26. Funnily enough, however, the Trail Blazers would probably be happy with even more injuries to their top players. The goal for this year is to tank for the fourth consecutive season, with an eye on what is projected to be the best draft class in years.

Losing Sharpe, however, is especially disappointing for fans, as he had struggled with health issues last year, but looked far-improved in 2023-24 from his rookie season. Across 32 available bouts last year (25 starts), the 21-year-old posted career-best averages of 15.9 points (on .406/.333/.824 shooting splits), 5.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, and 0.9 steals a night. His athleticism makes his two-way upside especially tantalizing.

Will Portland opt to return Scoot Henderson to a starting role and shift expected starting point guard Anfernee Simons back to a shooting guard role, in the absence of Sharpe? It seems probably, but Billups could also exploring promoting a bench wing and keeping Henderson is new intended reserve role going forward.

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