We're almost a month into the NBA season, and a Scoot Henderson-Naz Reid trade makes more sense than ever. Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic said there was a "very high" chance that the Charlotte Hornets would trade Reid on his show. Meanwhile, Henderson faces a murky future with the Portland Trail Blazers.
A one-for-one swap doesn't work financially, but it's close enough that it would be easy to add salary filler even midseason. Henderson and a draft pick or two would still be the headliner of the trade package heading to Charlotte in this scenario.
Scoot Henderson for Naz Reid? Why it makes more sense than ever
That's the downside that general manager Joe Cronin would have to weigh in any trade idea like this. Reid is playing the best basketball of his career to start the season in Charlotte, averaging 17.4 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. Henderson is back to his rookie-season struggles, with the most notable improvement on defense.
He's off to a brutal start offensively, averaging 8.4 points, 1.5 assists, and 2.4 turnovers on concerning 32/23/81 shooting splits. The playmaking leaves much to be desired as a point guard, yet the shooting isn't consistent enough in an off-ball role. Micah Nori seems to be realizing this too, as he replaced Henderson with Sidy Cissoko in Portland's starting lineup while Ja Morant remains sidelined.
Henderson's slow start is exactly why the Blazers couldn't reach a rookie scale extension before the season. That volatility makes him a difficult player to invest in long-term, especially with the Blazers' Deni Avdija extension dilemma looming.
It's starting to look like it's in both parties' best interest to move on. Henderson could get a point guard/primary offensive initiator role in Charlotte, which is seeking a long-term answer after moving on from LaMelo Ball.
Portland can proactively get ahead of Henderson's restricted free agency and turn him into more established assets by February's trade deadline. Reid makes perfect sense as someone to pursue with Henderson as that trade chip.
It would give Portland a center logjam, but we've just seen how the backcourt logjam turned into a strength thanks to injuries and the versatility of players stepping up to fill the void. The Blazers need something similar in the frontcourt, especially with Robert Williams III's health unfortunately never being a guarantee. Reid is that insurance and floor spacing answer all packaged into one. He's the win-now trade Portland needs to make, moving on from the inconsistent Henderson.
These back-to-back wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder showed this team can beat anybody in the league. They have this closing window straddling the timelines of an ascending young core largely on team-friendly deals and veterans like Jrue Holiday and Damian Lillard nearing the end of their Hall of Fame careers. Tom Dundon has already said he's more aggressive than most owners, so why not pull the trigger on a Henderson-Reid swap?
This team is ready to win now, and this trade would only help those odds. With Henderson seemingly more expendable than ever, I would call Charlotte and sell them on the idea of him breaking out elsewhere.
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