The Portland Trail Blazers and Scoot Henderson didn't reach a rookie-scale extension, according to NBA insider Chris Haynes.
"The deadline will pass with Scoot Henderson — No. 3 pick in 2023 NBA Draft — and the Portland Trail Blazers bypassing on a rookie-scale extension, league sources tell me. He'll become an RFA following the season," Haynes reported on X.
Blazers fail to reach a rookie-scale extension with Scoot Henderson
This always seemed to be the direction Henderson and the Blazers were headed. He had too inconsistent a year between the offseason hamstring injury and Jekyll & Hyde first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs.
Henderson played just 30 games in the regular season, which seemed to have contributed to his inconsistent postseason play, as he never really was able to establish himself in the offensive hierarchy. That’s become even more uncertain now that the Blazers have Damian Lillard and Ja Morant, which Micah Nori has hinted will be the starting backcourt when Portland opens the season at home Wednesday against the Phoenix Suns.
And at Blazers Media Day, it felt as though GM Joe Cronin was basically telling us the reasons why an extension was unlikely to get done, discussing the added layer of complexity that comes in negotiations with a "high-variance player" such as Henderson.
"There has been dialogue and seemingly mutual interest to find a deal that makes sense for both sides," Cronin said. "A lot of times these types of deals are hard to come by, especially for a high-variance player like Scoot has been so far, where he's shown some really great moments and then some other moments where there's still a few questions around his game. So those can be tricky sometimes."
He did later refer to Henderson as a "high-priority player" for the Blazers as well, adding that we "shouldn't be too concerned with it" as Portland still has one more offseason to find common ground.
Blazers should've gotten ahead of a Scoot Henderson breakout
But that's the part where Cronin loses us in this decision not to proactively lock down Scoot long term. If Henderson is truly a high-priority and key piece of this rebuild, it makes much more financial sense to capitalize on that inconsistent play he showed to finish the season.
Henderson has been great this offseason between training camp and preseason, to the point where Jrue Holiday even called him the training camp MVP. He's shown continued progression, quietly transforming himself from a historically bad rookie to someone who is a genuinely impactful two-way player. He's just 22 years old, playing a point guard position that's typically the most difficult position to initially adjust to when transitioning to the NBA.
Not to mention, Henderson is known to have an incredible work ethic, meaning Portland should feel even more confident in that continued progression and investing in him long term. In an interview with HoopsHype, Blazers insider Sean Highkin of Rose Garden Report said that if you gave Shaedon Sharpe the "attitude, mentality, and work ethic" of Scoot Henderson, he'd be Anthony Edwards. That's a memorable comparison, and quite frankly makes us slightly concerned about Portland's decision to essentially prioritize Sharpe over Henderson when it comes to these extensions.
They reached a four-year, $90 million rookie-scale extension with Sharpe the year prior. That wasn't immediately good value, but Portland was betting on his upside, trying to get ahead of that potential breakout. There were even parallels with Sharpe being named that standout performer by Holiday last offseason, strengthening his case for an extension.
Ultimately, the Blazers took the opposite direction with Henderson. If what we've seen from him throughout preseason carries over to meaningful regular season games, that'll be a mistake. Portland should've gotten ahead of the breakout, committing to a former No. 3 overall pick who has played and developed well enough to earn his way back into being considered part of this young core.
Hopefully the Blazers still come to that conclusion next offseason. But should he have a career season, why wouldn't a team be willing to throw money given his draft pedigree and potential? A Henderson breakout could cause a bidding war that forces the Blazers' hand, and is a scenario they proactively should've avoided while they still had a chance.
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