Trail Blazers' Sharpe to have surgery; timeline for return unknown
Published
The Portland Trail Blazers announced on Tuesday that Canadian guard Shaedon Sharpe will have corrective surgery to address a core muscle problem.
"During Sharpe’s ramp up in basketball activities to return to play, he experienced worsening of his symptoms," the team said via press release.
"Due to his lack of progression, it has been determined that Sharpe will undergo corrective surgery to address a core muscle injury. Surgery is tentatively planned for later this week."
Sharpe, 20, was selected with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft by Portland. In 32 games this season, the London, Ont. native has 15.9 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game.
He has been out since mid-January with what was originally described as a "lower abdominal strain," and was originally given a two-week time frame for re-evaluation. The team announced he was ramping up basketball activities to return to play on Jan. 31 before the setback occurred.
Sharpe was the second Canadian selected in the 2022 NBA draft after the Indiana Pacers took Bennedict Mathurin with the sixth selection. At seventh overall, Sharpe is tied for the sixth-highest selection by a Canadian-born player.
In 112 career NBA games, Sharpe has averaged 11.6 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game. The Trail Blazers enter play on Tuesday at 15-35, ahead of only the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference.