5 Contingency plans for the Blazers if Scoot Henderson struggles in 2024-25

5. Draft a point guard next summer

The Blazers could also decide to do nothing, at least this season. Going through growing pains with Scoot would allow him a whole year to prove whether or not he should be considered a foundational piece in Portland's rebuild.

Either he plays well, and the Blazers feel comfortable moving forward. Or he doesn't show progression from his rookie season; in that worst-case scenario, the Blazers would likely have a record toward the bottom of the league and would be well-positioned to have a top-five selection in the 2025 NBA Draft. Multiple point guards, including VJ Edgecombe, Nolan Traore, and Dylan Harper, are projected to be taken around that range.

Taking a point guard would likely infuriate many Blazers fans who feel they have endured multiple losing seasons with very little to show for it. But that's sometimes the risk you take as a team bottoming out.

The bottom three teams have only a 14 percent chance of landing the No. 1 overall pick, and top prospects still underperform in the NBA. Although it isn't a guaranteed strategy, tanking for a better draft pick in hopes of landing a future All-Star is oftentimes the right move to make for a rebuilding team; this especially applies to a team like Portland that has more difficulty attracting top free agents.

If the Blazers don't feel comfortable moving forward with Scoot leading the way, it could be in their best interest to take another point guard early on in the draft, especially if he's the top-ranked prospect on their board.