Bleacher Report's Greg Swartz recently named every NBA team's biggest fear right now. For the Portland Trail Blazers, it's the possibility of Scoot Henderson becoming a draft bust. Swartz adds that although Henderson shouldn't be declared a draft bust yet, he also hasn't done enough to justify a massive rookie extension this offseason.
Through 23 games this season, Henderson is averaging 13.7 points, 3.8 assists, and 2.8 rebounds on 41/34/83 shooting splits. While those numbers aren't horrible, they're also concerningly similar to the underwhelming rookie campaign that led to people prematurely declaring him a bust.
Scoot Henderson hasn't done enough to prove skeptics wrong
Given he's just 22 years old, Henderson still has plenty of time to right the ship. But at the same time, he also hasn't done enough to prove those skeptics wrong.
Henderson's on-ball defense has quietly improved, which is a huge development for his fit with Portland's young core and established defensive identity. However, serious question marks remain on the offensive end, particularly when it comes to his streaky shooting and turnover problems.
Henderson has been used somewhat as a combo guard in Portland, with Deni Avdija and Shaedon Sharpe having higher usage rates this season. However, he's still averaging 2.6 turnovers per game, and his off-ball fit is questionable given the 33.6 percent shooting from deep.
Not only does Portland have to worry about Henderson panning out as a pick in general, but they also have to reevaluate how he fits with their young core offensively.
Henderson's fit with the Blazers is an unsolvable puzzle
Avdija has serious turnover problems of his own, but Portland's offense is better with the ball in the hands of their star as he continues to work through those growing pains as a point-forward. If the final iteration of this roster is using Avdija as that point-forward, where does that leave Henderson? It's going to be hard to return draft value if he's not initiating most of the offense, considering his table-setting ability was a huge part of his strengths as a coveted prospect.
Scoot isn't doing himself any favors. The Blazers would gladly give him the keys to the backcourt if he showed enough up until this point. Look what they did with Donovan Clingan, buying out Deandre Ayton after Clingan proved he deserved an increased role as a rookie. They don't feel that same confidence level when it comes to Scoot taking over the backcourt, and rightfully so.
There's too much inconsistent play and frustrating decision-making to depend on him so heavily, especially given Portland's playoff aspirations. But by not making him the focal point of the offense, it becomes increasingly harder for Henderson to dig himself out of that hole.
We must redefine expectations for Henderson. He may not be a draft bust, but if Portland is demoting him to an off-ball piece, that's never going to be enough to return value on the most important draft investment of their entire rebuild.