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PORTLAND, Ore. (July 20, 2022) – Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe underwent further evaluation of a small labral tear in his left shoulder, and it has been determined that surgery will not be required, the team announced today.

Sharpe will continue rehabilitation and is expected to be available for Fall training camp.

The injury occurred during Portland’s Summer League game against Detroit on Thursday, July 7.

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Shaedon Sharpe Injury Update

Greetings loyal listeners. With the 2022 Las Vegas Summer League championship once again coming home to Portland, it was a good time to fire up the mobile podcast studio to record the 56th edition of The Blazers Balcony, a co-production between myself, Casey Holdahl, and Brooke Olzendam...

On this week's show we consider the Trail Blazers' successful stint in Las Vegas, which ended with defeating the Knicks for a second time in order to secure the Summer League title, getting some good vibes in the desert at just the right time, begging for a Summer League championship ring, the maturity of Trendon Watford, who was named MVP of the championship game and second team All Summer League, the revelatory performance of Jabari Walker and what they might mean for the Blazers going forward before bidding a fond farewell to our friend and coworker Amara Baptist.

This will probably be our last podcast for a few weeks, so feel free to parse it out as you see fit.

You can subscribe to the Blazers Balcony on Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, Stitcher, TuneIn, Deezer, Spotify, I Heart Radio,  Pocket Casts and Pandora. 

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PODCAST » The Blazers Balcony, Episode 56

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 13, 2022) – The Portland Trail Blazers have signed rookie forward Jabari Walker to a standard NBA contract, it was announced today by General Manager Joe Cronin. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Walker, 19, was selected by Portland with the 57th overall pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. He has played in three games for the Trail Blazers at the 2022 NBA Summer League, posting averages of 13.0 points (68.2% FG, 37.5% 3-PT, 66.7% FT), 8.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 19.6 minutes per game.

Walker (6-9, 215) played two seasons at Colorado where he averaged 11.5 points (47.9% FG, 39.9% 3-PT, 78.3% FT), 7.2 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 59 games (33 starts). He was named All-Pac-12 First Team as a sophomore in 2021-22 after averaging 14.6 points (fourth in the Pac-12) and 9.4 rebounds (first in the Pac-12) to go with 1.2 assists in 33 games (all starts). He recorded 17 double-doubles in 2021-22, ranking 10th among all NCAA Division 1 players and leading the Pac-12 Conference. Walker was a 2020-21 Pac-12 Conference All-Freshman Team selection after averaging 7.6 points and 4.3 rebounds during his first collegiate campaign.

A native of Wichita, Kansas, Walker is the son of 10-year NBA veteran Samaki Walker.

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Trail Blazers Sign Jabari Walker

Greetings from Las Vegas! With so much news to discuss with the expiration of the moratorium, Brooke Olzendam, she of Trail Blazers TV, took a break from sitting by the lake and I, Casey Holdahl of Trailblazers.com, stepped away from the craps table long enough to record the 55th edition of The Blazers Balcony, which you can listen/subscribe to below...

On this edition, we discuss the trade for Jerami Grant, signing Gary Payton II as a free agent, re-signing Anfernee Simons, Jusuf Nurkic and Drew Eubanks, Damian Lillard's two-year max extension before ending on a down note with the news that rookie Shaedon Sharpe is out for the rest of summer league with a small tear in his left labrum.

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PODCAST » Dame Extended, Sharpe's Summer League Ended On The Blazers Balcony

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 9, 2022) – The Portland Trail Blazers have signed guard Damian Lillard to a multi-year contract extension, it was announced today by General Manager Joe Cronin.

The two-year extension keeps Lillard under contract with the Trail Blazers through the 2026-27 season.

“Damian Lillard is the greatest player in franchise history and an all-time NBA talent,” said Cronin. “In signing this contract extension, Damian continues his commitment to the city of Portland and the organization. We look forward to his continued excellence here with the Trail Blazers for many years to come.”

Selected as one of the 75 greatest players in NBA history ahead of the 2021-22 season, Lillard, 31, is the only player in franchise history with six All-NBA honors and one of three players to be named All-NBA First Team while with the Trail Blazers (2017-18). Lillard is a six-time NBA All-Star, a 2021 Olympic Gold Medalist and the unanimous 2012-13 NBA Rookie of the Year.

Winner of the 2018-19 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award, the 2019-20 Magic Johnson Award and the 2020-21 Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year Award, Lillard holds career averages of 24.6 points (43.7% FG, 37.3% 3-PT, 89.3% FT), 4.2 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 0.96 steals in 711 games (all starts) over 10 seasons with the Trail Blazers.

The sixth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft out of Weber State, Lillard has led the Trail Blazers to eight postseason appearances. He holds career playoff averages of 25.7 points (41.2% FG, 36.9% 3-PT, 88.7% FT), 4.5 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.18 steals in 61 games (all starts).

Lillard is the all-time franchise leader in scoring average, three-pointers made (2,143) and free throws made (3,917). Additionally, he ranks second in Trail Blazers history in points (17,510), second in field goals (5,725), second in minutes (25,835), third in assists (4,726), fourth in games played (711) and seventh in steals (682).

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Trail Blazers Sign Damian Lillard to Multi-Year Contract Extension

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 9, 2022) – An MRI taken yesterday revealed Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe with a small labral tear in his left shoulder, the team announced today.

Sharpe will begin immediate rest and rehabilitation. He will miss the remainder of Summer League and will be reevaluated in 10-14 days.

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After nearly a week of practices at their facility in Tualatin, the Portland Trail Blazers got their 2022 Summer League underway with a 81-78 loss to the Detroit Pistons Thursday night at Thomas &amp; Mack Arena on the campus of UNLV.

“First-game jitters a little bit in the first half,” said Steve Hetzel, who is handling head coaching duties in Las Vegas. “You could tell by the shooting percentages, just a little tight.”

Though they never led and trailed by as many as 14, the Trail Blazers outscored the Pistons in the second, third and fourth quarters to turn what had the makings of a blowout into a close affair. Both Trendon Watford and Greg Brown III had opportunities to potentially tie the game in the final five seconds, though ultimately, neither could convert their respective attempts before the final buzzer.

“I loved the effort,” said Hetzel. “These guys are together, and that’s what is most important. I like how they pull for one another -- in the huddles they were always positive. So everything from that end was positive.”

As was the play of Keon Johnson, who started Thursday’s contest alongside Brandon Williams, Shaedon Sharpe, Brown III and Watford. The 6-4 guard, acquired from the Clippers via trade last season, made five of his first six attempts before finishing as the game’s high scorer with 21 points on 8-of-17 shooting from the field, 2-of-6 shooting from three and 3-of-3 shooting from the line to go with three rebounds, two assists and two steals in 33 minutes.

“I felt like I’ve done alright,” said Johnson. “I wanted to come out on top with the win, that’s my main goal, but I feel like I played hard, tried to get my teammates involved, which is really what I try to focus on, just getting my teammates involved, keeping the energy high on the court. I feel like I done an okay job tonight.”

Then there was the play of rookie Jabari Walker, who Portland selected out of Colorado with the 57th pick of the 2022 Draft. The 6-9 forward didn’t miss a shot from the field in nearly 15 minutes, going 5-of-5 from the field and 1-of-1 from three to finish with 11 points in his Trail Blazers’ debut. Walker, who left Colorado after being named First-Team All Pac-12 his sophomore season, also grabbed seven rebounds and blocked a shot in the losing effort.

“It was great,” said Walker of his first game as a pro. “I have a lot of great guards I can play off of. Just cut, rebound, do some of the simple stuff. I’m finding it a lot easier than college in some ways just because of the spacing and being able to stay in the corner and cut.”

Unfortunately, Thursday’s game wasn’t as rewarding of an experience for Walker’s fellow rookie Shaedon Sharpe, who Portland selected with the seventh overall pick in last month’s draft. After not playing his first and only season at Kentucky, many were hoping to get an extended look at the 6-6 guard in his first competitive game in over a year. But Sharpe would leave Thursday’s game after less than six minutes with a left shoulder injury and would not return. His status for Portland’s next game, not to mention the rest of their summer league schedule, is to be determined.

Brandon Williams was the only other Blazer to break into double figures, going 4-of-12 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line for 15 points, four rebounds and four assists in 28 minutes. Rookie Jaden Ivey, selected with the fourth overall pick, led the Pistons with 20 points to go with six assists and six rebounds in 32 minutes.

With their first game at summer league in the books, the Trail Blazers will hold practice in Las Vegas on Friday before facing the Pelicans Saturday night at Thomas &amp; Mack. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN2.

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Jitters And Injuries Plague Portland In Summer League Loss To Pistons

Reynolds High School and Oregon State Standout Returns to Portland

PORTLAND, Ore. (July 6, 2022) – The Portland Trail Blazers have re-signed center Drew Eubanks, it was announced today by General Manager Joe Cronin. Per team policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Drew’s work ethic and style of play left an imprint on us last season,” said Cronin. “His toughness and ability to finish at the rim will be assets to our frontcourt depth.”

Eubanks, 25, played in 22 games (all starts) for the Trail Blazers last season, posting averages of 14.5 points (64.6% FG, 78.4% FT), 8.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 29.5 minutes per game. He scored 20-plus points on five occasions for Portland and recorded six double-doubles. For the 2021-22 season, Eubanks averaged career-highs of 7.7 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 71 games (31 starts) with Portland and San Antonio.

A four-year NBA veteran out of Reynolds High School in Troutdale and Oregon State University, Eubanks (6-9, 245) holds career averages of 5.9 points (59.0% FG, 75.3% FT), 4.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 170 games (37 starts) with Portland and San Antonio.

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Trail Blazers Re-Sign Drew Eubanks

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