Once viewed as the face of this Trail Blazers rebuild, point guard Scoot Henderson has quickly become an afterthought in Portland.
After their high-upside swing on Ja Morant, the Blazers now have four point guards on this roster. Given the star power between Morant, Damian Lillard, and Jrue Holiday, it's clear that Henderson is on the bottom of that point guard totem pole.
The silver lining is that the Blazers plan to start Morant alongside Lillard in the backcourt. That, combined with Holiday's positional versatility, should help head coach Micah Nori carve out minutes for Henderson.
Still, the point remains: this is far from being Henderson's backcourt.
Scoot Henderson slides further down the depth chart
You could make a case that Portland's surprising offseason moves last summer were beneficial to Henderson's long-term career trajectory. He was set to learn from one of the best defensive guards in the league, Holiday, and from the franchise icon and offensive superstar, Lillard. Better yet, Lillard's gap year and, as previously mentioned, Holiday's versatility gave Henderson a clear path to taking the keys to this backcourt.
Unfortunately, that didn't go according to plan as Henderson's season was derailed by an offseason hamstring injury. But considering the closing windows of Portland's aging stars, there was at least still an avenue for Henderson to receive the keys in the future.
These were supposed to be stopgaps and mentors rather than roadblocks. While that remains the case, Henderson's future suddenly became far murkier with Morant now in the mix.
Ja Morant trade clouds Scoot Henderson's future in Portland
Ja is only 26 years old with two years remaining on his massive contract. It's not only possible he becomes the Blazers' long-term answer at starting point guard, but it's also the outcome Portland is hoping for when they took on this trade. So even in the best-case scenario, Henderson doesn't quite seem to fit the Blazers' long-term plans.
That certainly complicates things for the remainder of this offseason, considering Scoot is eligible for a rookie-scale extension.
Portland reportedly wants this backcourt logjam to work and, at least for now, appears set on entering the 2026-27 season viewing it as a luxury rather than a problem that needs to be solved. Jake Fischer did mention in a Bleacher Report livestream during Day 1 of free agency that Henderson was the guard Portland was most open to trading around the draft. However, the NBA insider did emphasize that the Blazers seem optimistic about making this guard dynamic work heading into the season.
But even if the Blazers aren't the ones who initiate a trade for Henderson, you have to wonder how these roster decisions all look from his perspective. A top three pick who joined a rebuilding situation, shed bust labels, and has continually gotten better each season somehow climbs further down the depth chart at just 22 years old?
There's nothing to suggest Henderson is currently disgruntled by any means, though it wouldn't be surprising if he eventually seeks more opportunity elsewhere.
The downside of Portland's two-timeline approach is that some of their youth have not been prioritized, and it seems Henderson in particular is having his development hindered, especially now that he has Morant to worry about for at least the next two years.
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