Last offseason, the Portland Trail Blazers reached rookie scale extensions with Toumani Camara and Shaedon Sharpe, securing them long-term on respective four-year $82 and $90 million deals. It was the 2023 draft class' turn this time around; however, Portland ultimately decided not to make that same commitment with Scoot Henderson.
The deadline passed with Henderson and the Blazers unable to reach a mutual agreement, NBA insider Chris Haynes reported on X.
"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 said.
Blazers have a weird way of showing Scoot Henderson he's a priority
This seemed to be the direction general manager Joe Cronin was trending, most notably because of the surprising trade for yet another point guard in Ja Morant.
At Media Day, Cronin referred to Henderson as a "high-priority" player, emphasizing the fact that Portland still has another opportunity to retain him long term in restricted free agency next summer should an extension not materialize.
If the Blazers front office truly does view Henderson as an integral piece of this young core, they certainly have a strange way of showing it. Most teams typically don't push their 22-year-old point guard who's just years removed from being a No. 3 overall pick further down the depth chart and offensive hierarchy, especially when Henderson has genuinely improved each and every season since coming into the league.
It was a more difficult decision than Portland's front office probably would've hoped, not only because of the rocky start to his NBA career and inconsistent play that has transpired since, but also due to the untimely hamstring injury suffered during an offseason workout last year.
Henderson was already on the outside looking in when it came to Portland's true building blocks, which have now emerged in the frontcourt with the trio of Toumani Camara, Deni Avdija, and Donovan Clingan. The uncertainty lies in the backcourt, which is a surprising twist given the top ten draft investments of both Sharpe and Henderson. We've seen flashes of upside from each, yet neither has been able to put it together on a consistent basis.
The Blazers ultimately decided Sharpe was still worth the investment, betting on him unlocking more of that potential to return value on the extension. They clearly didn't feel the same when it came to Henderson's situation, which has been made evident both through the unnecessary Morant deal and now through the decision to pass on the opportunity to lock up Henderson when they had the chance.
Henderson may not have much leverage in this situation as a restricted free agent, but you have to wonder if it's in his best long-term interest to be in a situation where he's now consistently not being made the priority. The offseason decisions made by Cronin only further prove that to be the case for Henderson in Portland.
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