When fully healthy, the Portland Trail Blazers have seven players who could make a strong case for getting a spot in the starting lineup. Recently, head coach Chauncey Billups has elected for Shaedon Sharpe to be the odd man out of Portland's starting five the past two games.
Sharpe has been playing well in his third year and has arguably been the Blazers' most reliable scorer throughout the season, so the move was surprising, especially considering that the Blazers are rebuilding and Sharpe is their best bet at eventually becoming an All-Star.
But there's someone else who has a similar ceiling and has been playing great as of late: Scoot Henderson. In the past five games, Henderson has averaged 22.4 points and 7.8 assists, shooting 51.4 percent from beyond the arc in that span. It's a great problem to have, but Scoot's recent stretch further complicates the Blazers' starting five, at least in the short term.
Hopefully, this situation will be at least somewhat resolved by the Feb. 6 trade deadline. The three starters who should be traded are Jerami Grant, Anfernee Simons, and Deandre Ayton, although it would be shocking if all three get moved at the deadline, with Ayton appearing the most likely to stay in Portland for the time being.
Henderson's ascension adds another layer of complexity to Portland's messy roster, but it's a promising sign for their long-term outlook. Scoot's rocky start to his career was concerning and raised questions about whether Portland needed to keep Simons around or draft another point guard. For the most part, those questions have finally been answered.
Scoot Henderson’s rise solidifies Blazers’ future starting lineup
Portland still isn't entirely in the clear with Henderson -- at 20 years old, he's bound to regress from his five-game stretch with inconsistent play eventually. But he's trending in the right direction and has shown enough flashes to the point where the Blazers should feel comfortable moving forward with him as their point guard.
With that being the case, Rip City now has all five positions solidified for their young core:
- PG: Scoot Henderson
- SG: Shaedon Sharpe
- SF: Toumani Camara
- PF: Deni Avdija
- C: Donovan Clingan
That potential starting five has a nice blend of athletic guards with improving shots, versatile 3-and-D wings, and a defensive anchor in Clingan to tie it together.
The Blazers still lack star power, but they'll likely add another top-ten pick to the equation in the 2025 NBA Draft. Plus, Sharpe and now Henderson have shown promising leaps and could take on that role down the road.
This is a strong foundation to build off of. The next step is trading key veterans to clear the path for their youth movement.