The Portland Trail Blazers’ exhibition season ended Thursday night in Salt Lake City, which means the team is officially on the clock. And not just for the start of the regular season.
The Blazers have until Monday to agree to a contract extension with Shaedon Sharpe or the fourth-year shooting guard will be eligible to become a restricted free agent following the season.
What are the odds the sides work out a deal? What are the factors weighing into the negotiations? What does Sharpe think?
Here’s a look at where things stand three days before the deadline:
WHEN IS THE DEADLINE?
The sides have until Monday at 3 p.m. to work out a deal. If they don’t, Sharpe, who was selected with the No. 7 pick of the 2022 NBA draft, could become a restricted free agent next summer.
WHO ELSE HAS SIGNED AN EXTENSION?
It has become relatively uncommon for non-max players to agree to contract extensions before the final year of their rookie deal because it’s hard for teams and players to find middle ground in negotiations.
A team is looking for an extension that makes sense for its long-term health and doesn’t erode its salary cap flexibility, while a player is looking to maximize his earning potential. From the moment a rookie enters the league, he’s playing for that second contract, which often brings a financial windfall.
But general managers have cover in these negotiations because even if the player hits free agency, he would be restricted, meaning a team can always match competing offers and retain him. Any Blazers fan who followed the drama surrounding Nicolas Batum’s free agent saga in July 2012 knows this all too well.
That said, there have been a few signings beyond no-brainer max-contract players from Sharpe’s draft class. The Houston Rockets and No. 3 pick Jabari Smith Jr. agreed to a 5-year, $122-million extension, while the Miami Heat and No. 27 pick Nikola Jovic agreed to a 4-year, $62-million deal. Also, just this week, the Sacramento Kings inked No. 4 pick Keegan Murray to a massive 5-year, $140 million extension.
One can only assume the timing of that deal, which came Wednesday, sent a ripple through negotiations between the Blazers and Sharpe.
WHAT IS SHARPE WORTH?
Sharpe is arguably one of the hardest players in the draft class to pin a value on.
On the one hand, he’s a human highlight reel coming off a solid exhibition season in which he earned widespread praise for his defensive growth. The 6-foot-5, 208-pound shooting guard averaged 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.8 assists last season on a team that went 23-18 in the second half of the season, and his upside and athleticism are off the charts. Oh, and he’s only 22.
On the other hand, Sharpe is streaky, inconsistent from three-point range and his defense was so spotty last season, coach Chauncey Billups temporarily benched him.
On top of it all, franchise cornerstones Deni Avdija and Toumani Camara, who are currently playing under team-friendly deals, will be seeking their own contract extensions in the not-too-distant future. Whatever the Blazers pay Sharpe now sets a precedent for the future.
It seems likely the Blazers are aiming to ink Sharpe to an annual salary between $21-23 million, landing somewhere just south of the deal Smith signed. Meanwhile, Rich Paul, who represents Sharpe, no doubt looked at Murray’s deal with the Kings and wondered: “How close can we get to that?”
WHAT DOES SHARPE THINK?
Sharpe is a man of few words, so when he was asked earlier this week about the extension negotiations and his thoughts on landing a deal, he didn’t offer much insight.
But this much is clear: Sharpe is not asking Paul for regular updates about how talks are going, opting instead to focus on his game and avoid the distraction.
“At the end of the day, I’m going to come here and play basketball,” Sharpe said. “That’s what my job is. Just come here and play basketball. So that’s what I do.”
When someone mentioned that people get paid for their jobs, Sharpe grew a little irritated.
“I understand that,” he said. “But at the end of the day, it’s basketball. I’ve only been doing this since a little kid, so I’m not really worried about the money. The money will come. At the end of the day, it’s basketball.”
SO … WHAT ARE THE CHANCES THE SIDES REACH A DEAL?
At the start of the week, odds seemed unlikely, hovering around 25%. By Thursday, they tumbled even lower.
Both sides are open to a deal. It’s just a matter of finding a happy medium on the price.
Most negotiations don’t intensify until the last hour, when both sides are forced to show their best hands and take-it-or-leave-it offers and counter-offers are exchanged. It seems unlikely the Blazers and Sharpe agree to an extension, but we won’t know for sure until Monday at 3 p.m.
Assuming that happens, Sharpe would be placing an enormous bet on himself, gambling that he can put it all together in his fourth season and finally fulfill his immense potential.
How much more would Sharpe command if he blossomed into an All-Star? A lot. But the Blazers would gladly pay extra for a star.
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