The Portland Trail Blazers have already been handed one major twist in their backcourt puzzle, and it comes at a painful cost. Shaedon Sharpe’s torn meniscus leaves him set for a reevaluation in six months, which likely keeps him out until at least the All-Star Break.
That injury doesn’t make the situation better for Portland, but it does make the rotation picture a little easier to read. Suddenly, it feels more realistic to sort out minutes for Damian Lillard, Ja Morant, Scoot Henderson, and Jrue Holiday as the main pieces in the backcourt.
And that’s exactly where the next question comes in: should the Blazers keep Holiday at all?
There’s a case to be made that Portland should use his value now and move him while it still can. Holiday is the kind of veteran contender would want if it thinks he can be the final piece, the same way he was in championship runs with the Milwaukee Bucks and Boston Celtics. He just helped Portland’s playoff push with a resurgent season, but the Blazers are not in a position to wait around for that kind of payoff.
The roster already has enough moving parts, and Scoot Henderson’s role is part of what makes the conversation interesting. He’s improved off the ball, and that growing 3-and-D game makes it easier to imagine him fitting alongside Lillard and Morant.
There’s also another piece of the offense that has to stay at the center of the discussion: Deni Avdija. Portland’s attack still runs through him, and his evolving point-forward game was a big reason the Blazers made the postseason last year.
Even if Holiday were moved, the Blazers would still have an offensive structure in place. Avdija could remain the point-forward hub, with Morant and Lillard handling secondary playmaking duties. It would be a step back in the short term, and every team is better with Holiday than without him, but that also means Portland could potentially get a meaningful return from a team that sees him as the missing piece.
From a roster-building angle, that matters. The Blazers already took a conservative approach in the offseason, and even the headline move involving Ja Morant came back to Portland for a negative asset in Jerami Grant, Kris Murray, and zero draft picks. That makes a future-focused move more appealing now, especially if the team can turn Holiday into younger pieces that better match its timeline.
The financial side is just as important. Moving Holiday would open up significant flexibility, including room to renegotiate and extend Avdija. For a team trying to sort out its next version, that kind of breathing room has real value.
Holiday is 36, carries a $35 million salary, and has some injury concerns. That combination still has enough appeal around the league to make him a trade chip worth exploring.
Portland may not be actively shopping him, but Sharpe’s injury has at least clarified one part of the equation. If the Blazers want more answers for the future, Holiday looks like the next obvious domino.
In Other News...
Sidy Cissoko Suddenly Has A Real Blazers Opportunity
The Blazers have spent the offseason reshaping the edges of their roster, and the ripple effects are already creating openings for players who were never penciled in for major minutes. With Jerami Grant and Kris Murray traded away and Matisse Thybulle gone in free agency, Portland has thinned out the wing depth around a group that still includes Donovan Clingan and Robert Williams III, both retained as part of the teams frontcourt plans.
Sidy Cissoko is suddenly part of that conversation, alongside Vit Krejci, as the Blazers look for bodies who can handle real rotation work. Portland also brought in Jeremy Sochan on a non-guaranteed deal, so there is still competition for those minutes, but the door has opened wide enough for Cissoko to make a case for himself if the opportunity holds. [Read more 🡒]
CJ McCollum Revisited The Blazers What-If Fans Still Feel
CJ McCollums latest recollection of his Portland contract talks lands with the kind of hindsight that Blazers fans know all too well. Drafted 10th overall in 2013, he grew into a starter in the 2015-16 season and eventually earned Most Improved Player honors, turning himself into one of the franchises central figures before putting pen to paper on a major extension ahead of the 2019-20 season.
What makes the conversation linger, though, is how much it echoes the road Portland kept choosing at the time. McCollum was eventually dealt to New Orleans in the 2021-22 season as the Blazers doubled down on Damian Lillard, only for Lillard to later be gone after the 2022-23 season. McCollums contract story is another reminder of how close the team came to a different version of its core, and how many of those old decisions still hang over the franchise. [Read more 🡒]
Shaedon Sharpe Suddenly Feels Caught In Portlands Biggest Roster Squeeze
The Blazers backcourt is starting to look like a crowded, complicated puzzle, and Shaedon Sharpe is suddenly one of the pieces that does not fit as cleanly as it once seemed. Portland still has not made a call on Scoot Hendersons rookie-scale extension situation before the 2026-27 season, and the front office is trying to sort out a roster that needs more shooting and defense while also figuring out which young guards are truly part of the long-term core.
Sharpes place in that mix is especially murky because of how his season has unfolded and what his injury timetable could mean for the teams plans. If he is not back until late winter, the Blazers may have to weigh a February trade deadline decision without seeing much of him in game action, and his role has already been uncertain after falling out of the rotation under two head coaches. For a team trying to balance development with upgrades, that leaves Sharpe in the middle of one of Portlands most pressing roster questions. [Read more 🡒]