The development and evaluation of former No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson should be a top priority for the Portland Trail Blazers throughout the 2025-26 season. He needs a starting role.
Henderson would drastically benefit from playing alongside Portland's best talent, and it would also ensure that Chauncey Billups plays him significant minutes to help maintain his upward trajectory.
There was so much talk last season about Portland's end-of-season stretch that saw their young core contributing to a push for a play-in spot. However, Henderson puzzlingly saw a decreased role last season despite showing significant signs of improvement from an underwhelming rookie campaign. He only started in a total of 10 games, while his minutes and usage rate both declined.
The case for starting Scoot Henderson
If Portland's young core isn't being prioritized, then what's this all for? We already know what they have in their established veterans, and it isn't enough to be a playoff team, especially in the stacked Western Conference.
The Blazers' best chance at an eventual deep playoff run lies in the ascension of their young core. So wouldn't it make sense to prioritize the one player you invested the most draft capital into? The one who initialized this entire rebuild that you picked over Damian Lillard's timeline?
There will inevitably be growing pains if you throw Henderson into the starting lineup. He's just 21 years old, and the guards typically take the longest to adjust to the NBA level. That's also why it's essential to give Henderson extended minutes with veterans like Jrue Holiday, who can be a calming presence to help right the ship.
Holiday wasn't just brought in to help the Blazers in the short term; it was also a long-term move to provide mentorship and guidance for their young core. From that standpoint, it makes the most sense to have a Henderson-Holiday backcourt alongside Deni Avdija, Toumani Camara, and Donovan Clingan in the frontcourt.
Jerami Grant is due for positive regression after a disappointing 2024-25 season. But now is the perfect opportunity for Billups to use Grant's down season as an "excuse" to have that difficult but necessary discussion to bring him off the bench. If Grant starts and plays better (which seems likely), it's only going to get harder to make that swap.
Starting Henderson right out of the gates sets a much-needed precedent. It's Portland saying, yes, our roster is messy with veterans, but we haven't lost sight of the big picture.
You could make a case that Shaedon Sharpe deserves this final spot instead of Henderson. But the Blazers' offense needs more shooting, playmaking, and ball-handling. Sharpe is too one-dimensional as a score-first player to address these roster weaknesses. Starting Henderson is the perfect blend of what the Blazers need both in the short and long term.
With Damian Lillard out this season, the Blazers need to use this time to see if they genuinely have their starting point guard of the future in Henderson. There's no better way to find out than putting him in that sink-or-swim situation.