The Portland Trail Blazers have been linked to a number of intriguing players on the trade market. Could they move on from Scoot Henderson as early as this week? If so, his last game for the franchise came a long time ago.
It has not been a smooth road for Portland and once-promising young point guard Scoot Henderson. That is not to say that he has been an abject failure; this is not Marvin-Bagley-over-Luka-Doncic levels of failure here. Yet as Henderson has struggled and the players that Portland passed on have thrived, the decision has not aged well.
With Amen Thompson a two-way star in Houston, Ausar Thompson a defensive maestro in Detroit (both starting on teams at the top of the standings), the struggles for Henderson in Portland are only magnified. Scoot has had multiple injuries slow him down, and when he has been on the court his level of play has not matched the hype.
Through 128 career games in Portland, Henderson has averaged 13.3 points and 5.2 assists per game, shooting 34 percent from 3-point range and a more concerning 43.8 percent from 2-point range. He is a turnover machine, a common issue for young point guards, but he hasn't yet pulled out of that muck.
It's not that Henderson is filling in the little things around his inefficient play, either. He has been one of the worst players in the league over his first two seasons, full-stop. He had one of the worst seasons of all time by on-off stats as a rookie. His sophomore year showed flashes of improvement but also stretches of deep disappointment.
This season, Henderson hasn't even played due to a hamstring injury. Portland is desperate to get him onto the court so that he can take a step forward in his development, but as their season starts to fritter away, the pressure to make a change is rising. Does the organization still believe that he can be their point guard of the future?
The Portland Trail Blazers could trade Scoot Henderson
If not, replacement options are available on the trade market and in the draft. The Trail Blazers are armed with valuable trade assets in the form of future Milwaukee Bucks draft picks and the foundation of a good defensive team with Donovan Clingan and Toumani Camara alongside breakout star Deni Avdija.
They have been mentioned as a destination for LaMelo Ball. A trade for Austin Reaves makes a lot of sense if the Los Angeles Lakers go after Giannis Antetokounmpo. They could also add a player at another position and bank on drafting a point guard in the 2026 NBA Draft like Mikel Brown Jr. and letting Damian Lillard have the reigns for a year or two.
There are plenty of options before them that do not include Scoot Henderson, and other teams may value the chance to take a swing on a player who is just over two years removed from being the No. 3 pick. He looked like a can't-miss future star at point guard. The chance of that potential being realized will entice other teams.
If Portland decides that ship has sailed for Scoot Henderson on the Trail Blazers, he makes a lot of sense as a trade sweetener. And that could mean he is traded in the coming weeks as NBA trade season comes alive after December 15th.
Has Scoot Henderson played his last game for the Trail Blazers already? And was that game all the way back on March 27th, a 21-point loss to the Sacramento Kings when Henderson mustered just six points on 2-for-8 shooting.
Is it already over for Scoot? It just might be. Perhaps the Blazers keep him around and fight for that upside; perhaps a franchise that is increasingly making win-now moves makes another one.
If this is the end, it will be a bittersweet way for things to end for such a promising young player.