The Portland Trail Blazers extended Shaedon Sharpe and Toumani Camara before the 2025-26 season. Will they follow a similar blueprint with Scoot Henderson this summer?
Both Henderson and Kris Murray are two first-round investments from the 2023 draft class, meaning they are eligible to sign a rookie extension until the final day of the offseason. Unfortunately, they haven't shown as much immediate impact as Sharpe and Camara, making this an even more difficult decision for Portland's front office.
Henderson is arguably the most difficult player on the entire Blazers roster to evaluate. Part of that is not his fault, as he dealt with an untimely hamstring injury before what was deemed by many as a make-or-break season.
Not only did Henderson have to prove himself before the extension decision, but this year was also a prime opportunity to do so. Portland swapped Anfernee Simons for Jrue Holiday, an offense-for-defense move that quietly cleared some of the offensive playmaking for Henderson. With Damian Lillard's gap year, this was supposed to be Henderson's backcourt for the taking.
Unfortunately, we are entering yet another summer without backcourt clarity on whether Henderson is truly the long-term solution at starting point guard.
Should the Blazers extend Scoot Henderson?
Even when healthy, it's been quite the rollercoaster ride. There's perhaps no better example than Henderson's first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs. In the first three games, he totaled 70 points. That was followed by a goose egg in Game 4, finishing the season off with a five-point performance in Game 5.
Henderson has shown progress since a concerning rookie season, improving in key areas such as shooting, defense, playmaking, finishing, and perhaps most importantly, overall decision-making. He shows flashes of upside, but those instances need to be on a much more consistent basis before Portland is comfortable giving him the keys to the backcourt.
That uncertainty surrounding his role makes it much more difficult to commit to him long-term, as Portland should want to see a larger sample size before making a decision.
The case for securing an extension for Henderson is similar to that of Sharpe, with Portland trying to get ahead of a potential breakout by locking him down financially. But there's much less confidence in Henderson reaching that potential compared to Sharpe, given what the two have shown in terms of on-court production the past few years.
The future with Henderson remains murky, and he's even become an afterthought in Portland's rebuild. How much of that was due to the untimely injury, and how much has the landscape of this roster changed?
Hopefully, they'll find the answer to that important question next season. But in the meantime, the Blazers should remain patient and plan to make a better-informed decision next summer.
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