Scoot Henderson is going to be given every opportunity he needs to succeed in his third season with the Portland Trail Blazers. Following their offseason acquisitions of Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard, Portland now has multiple mentors for Henderson. He'll be surrounded by one of the best offensive point guards (Lillard), one of the best defensive point guards (Holiday), and a Hall of Fame point guard as his head coach (Chauncey Billups).
It's a rare and ideal position for Henderson to be in, especially since Holiday is the only one of the three to be cutting into his on-court minutes and production for the 2025-26 season.
Billups recently referred to Lillard's role as one of their assistant coaches for next season as he continues to recover from a brutal Achilles tear. "He'll be back as good as ever, if you know anything about him. This year, he'll be the highest-paid assistant coach in history. I'll be putting him to work every day," Billups said, via Sean Highkin.
Blazers must reevaluate backcourt if Henderson can't capitalize on offseason moves
Last season, Henderson averaged 12.7 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.0 rebounds on 42/35/77 shooting splits. The stats don't necessarily show it, but Henderson took a significant leap in his second year.
Henderson forced the issue too much as a rookie, eager to assert himself in the league as the No. 3 overall pick. That resulted in an inability to change speeds, turnovers, questionable shot selection, and frustrating defensive lapses. He became a much better overall decision maker as he finally seemed comfortable adjusting to the pace of the NBA. He was a better finisher, more efficient scorer, and limited his turnovers. These are areas that Portland's roster needed to improve as a whole, as evidenced by their 111.0 offensive rating, which tied for 22nd in the league.
Deni Avdija's first year in Portland went as well as they could've asked for. But the Blazers still lack playmakers outside of Avdija, especially now that Anfernee Simons is out of the picture. Henderson is Portland's best bet to become a long-term secondary option alongside Avdija. And they're wisely investing as much as they can to get him to that point by surrounding him with three of the game's best point guards, all of whom can help mentor him in different key aspects.
All signs point to a breakout season for Henderson due to his increased role, improved play, and valuable mentors. But if that doesn't wind up being the case, Portland is going to have to take a hard look at its backcourt and reevaluate its options going forward.