It remains to be seen whether Scoot Henderson or Jrue Holiday will ultimately be the starting point guard to begin the 2025-26 season for the Portland Trail Blazers. Regardless, Henderson will have every opportunity to break out in his third year.
Between Holiday's lower usage rate relative to Anfernee Simons and Damian Lillard's expected gap year as he continues to recover from a torn Achilles, the backcourt is finally Henderson's for the taking.
It's not just about the increased role either. Henderson will drastically benefit from having three valuable point guard mentors: head coach Chauncey Billups and star guards Holiday and Lillard.
Henderson is set to benefit from Blazers' unexpected offseason
Zach Lowe recently highlighted the mentorship aspect and how Scoot will benefit from the Blazers' new-look roster on The Zach Lowe Show.
"One person with the Blazers told me, 'Scoot gets to learn from, now, one of the best offensive point guards of all time, one of the best defensive point guards of all time, and has a Hall of Fame point guard as his head coach in Chauncey Billups,'" Lowe said.
But between the three mentors, there's one thing that Lillard can offer Henderson that the other two can't: how to become the Blazers' star point guard.
Portland's trade for Holiday was puzzling, given his age, declining production, and burdensome contract of three years, $104 million. But in some ways, Portland also views it as an investment in Henderson. From that standpoint, it's somewhat more understandable.
Henderson is the player Portland has invested the most draft capital into as a former No. 3 overall pick, and his ceiling will determine how successful this rebuild is. By adding veterans like Holiday and Lillard and keeping others around on the roster, Portland is committed to rebuilding around its existing young core. That's a significant gamble because if Henderson doesn't pan out as expected, Portland will be coming up short in the loaded Western Conference, even when their young core collectively reaches its prime.
Between having a trio of mentors, the Blazers are doing all they can to ensure this outcome doesn't happen.
Henderson still has all the talent that made him the No. 3 pick, but he needs time to develop in multiple aspects of his game. Between the different strengths that Billups, Holiday, and Lillard provide, he's now set to build off an encouraging second season.
All should help Scoot in their respective ways, but Lillard may have the most significant impact of them all. He's the only one who has successfully achieved what Henderson is striving to become as a Blazer.