Predicting the Blazers' perfect starting lineup after ideal offseason

The Portland Trail Blazers are at a pivotal turning point in their rebuilding process as they enter their first official offseason in the post-Damian Lillard era. At the very least, Portland will likely make a move for financial reasons, as they are currently projected to be in the luxury tax and first apron.

With a stockpile of veterans on a rebuilding team in financial trouble, the Blazers are yet again a team to closely monitor this offseason. Factoring in their two lottery picks, Rip City is only one trade away from having an entirely completely different outlook next season.

Point guard: Scoot Henderson

Scoot Henderson started 32 games in his rookie season. While he had a rollercoaster rookie year, ideally, he would still start next season for the Blazers. Henderson averaged 14 points, 5.4 assists, 3.1 rebounds, and 0.8 steals per game in his rookie season on 39/33/82 shooting splits.

Henderson's inefficiency stood out, specifically around the rim - he was last in field goal percentage on layup and dunk attempts. However, the pros outweigh the cons at this point in his young career. The Blazers guard is as good as advertised at getting to the rim with his ballhandling and quick burst. He's already shown flashes of being an elite scorer as the first Trail Blazers rookie since Damian Lillard to have multiple 30-point games.

If he can eventually put it all together and finish his drives, Henderson has the potential to be a tough cover in the league. He needs to find a way to become more consistent in his overall play, which should come with time and increased reps as he continues to figure out how to navigate his place in the league.

The pessimism surrounding Henderson's rocky transition from the G League Ignite to the Blazers has gotten overblown. He's still the franchise point guard, even in this perfect starting lineup scenario.