3 Portland Trail Blazers whose roles are in jeopardy in 2024-25 NBA season

The Portland Trail Blazers somehow went from having too many guards to having four centers on their roster. It's all a part of the rebuilding process, and they continue to stockpile the best available assets and figure out the ideal positional fits later. However, as a result, certain players find themselves potentially either not starting or being buried at the bottom of the depth chart.

1. Scoot Henderson

The four almost certain Blazers starters are Anfernee Simons, Deni Avdija, Jerami Grant, and Deandre Ayton. In other words, both forward positions and the center spot are locked in as of now. If that's the case, it leaves the last starting role open for one of Scoot Henderson or Shaedon Sharpe. It's an interesting predicament to be in for the rebuilding Blazers.

You'd expect them to want to start both of their recent top-ten picks, especially when they are rumored to be 'bad by design' to increase their odds of landing Cooper Flagg or another top prospect in the 2025 NBA Draft, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe (subscription required).

Henderson may not have a starting point guard role entering next season, but he should still see significant minutes to help him gain more reps in the NBA. If Scoot can improve his shooting in terms of three-point accuracy and finishing at the rim, he could take over as the starting point guard before the end of next season.

But you could make the case that Henderson is better suited in a sixth-man role to run the Blazers' second unit. Portland's bench is very defensive-minded, with players like Toumani Camara, Matisse Thybulle, Donovan Clingan, and Robert Williams III. Meanwhile, their starters are score-first players like Ayton, Grant, and Simons. Because Henderson is likely the best playmaker on the Blazers' roster (especially as he continues to improve his decision-making), the bench unit could benefit more from Scoot providing them with easy opportunities.