Portland Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe suffered a small labral tear in his left shoulder during their Summer League opener Thursday against the Detroit Pistons and will be reevaluated in 10-14 days, the team announced Saturday. Sharpe had an MRI Friday, which confirmed the injury. With Summer League ending on Sunday, July 17, Sharpe will miss the remainder of the festivities in Vegas.
Sharpe suffered his injury only six minutes into Portland’s game against Detroit. He did not return in the first half, and his absence was announced in the second half. Teams almost always err on the side of caution when it comes to Summer League injuries because the games don’t count. In all likelihood, Sharpe will not be the only rookie to be ruled out before Summer League ends.
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Sharpe was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, but was among the more mysterious prospects available. A top recruit out of high school, Sharpe attended the University of Kentucky but didn’t actually play there after graduating high school early and initially planning to redshirt his freshman season before playing for the Wildcats next year. He was such a promising high school prospect that Portland felt comfortable picking him in the lottery regardless.
That would have made Summer League an excellent showcase for Sharpe, but he’ll have plenty of chances to prove himself on the court when the season begins in October. Neither he nor the Blazers have much to gain by pushing him to play injured now, so his Summer League is almost certainly over.
KVSP