With the Trailblazers potentially shutting down Damian Lillard and other stars for the rest of the season, Shaedon Sharpe looks like a must-roster player for the stretch run.

Video Transcript

[MUSIC PLAYING]

- This time of year can be frustrating for fantasy managers. The star player who could have maybe led your team on a deep playoff run is now the subject of injury management, with the franchise seemingly more interested in draft lottery odds than finishing out the season strong. That may be the case in Portland, with it being reported on March 25th that the team is leaning towards shutting down Damien Lillard for the rest of the season. Nothing has been decided just yet, but with Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic all dealing with injuries, the writing may be on the wall.

So where should fantasy managers turn? Look no further than rookie Shaedon Sharpe. Over the last two weeks, the rookie wing is averaging 14.2 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.5 blocks, and 2.3 three-pointers in 24.7 minutes per game, which has been good for top 100 value in nine-cat formats. Sharpe has played even more in his last two appearances, logging 40 and 38 minutes, respectively, in starts against the Jazz and Bulls. And he was productive in both starts, scoring 24 points in each game to go along with totals of 13 rebounds, five assists, four steals, one blocked shot, and eight three-pointers.

Sharp is still rostered in 38% of Yahoo leagues, which is too low for a player who stands to take on a heavy workload in Portland's final two weeks.