NBA: Power ranking the 17 most dynamic young cores with the highest upside

8. Portland Trail Blazers

Young core: Shaedon Sharpe, Deni Avdija, Scoot Henderson, Donovan Clingan

The Portland Trail Blazers didn't have a great year 1 of their rebuild and a lot of that was due to injury. Shaedon Sharpe, arguably the team's best young player, missed most of the season and didn't make the jump in his development that many hoped he would. However, heading into this season, there's reason to believe that Sharpe is finally ready to make that jump for the Blazers. The verdict is still out on Scoot Henderson, but the talent is clearly there. The good news for the Blazers is that after getting off to a slow start during his rookie season, he did manage to end the year on a high note. The question is, can he continue to build off that this season?

The Blazers also managed to trade Malcolm Brogdon to the Washington Wizards in exchange for Deni Avdija, a player who has begun to hit his stride as a young player over the last couple of seasons. He should be a strong supporting player for this young core.

The true wildcard for the Blazers young core is Donovan Clingan. He has the chance to be a generational rim-protector and if that does end up being the case, the Blazers could have their long-term answer at the center position as Deandre Ayton continues to struggle with consistency.