Scoot Henderson's second season should have Portland Trail Blazers fans feeling relieved. After a rocky rookie year plagued by inefficient shooting, defensive lapses, and questionable decision-making, premature talks of him being a bust have largely been put to rest.
This year, Scoot is averaging 12.7 points, 5.1 assists, and 3.0 rebounds on 43/36/78 shooting splits. Henderson's traditional stats don't necessarily suggest this because his minutes and usage rate are down from last season, but he's finally turned a corner. And Chauncey Billups deserves recognition for helping him do so.
Before the All-Star break, there was a turning point in the season where Portland won nine of ten games. At the time, Jason Quick of The Athletic published a piece attributing the Blazers' newfound success to a series of meetings (subscription required) that Billups had with his players starting in December.
Billups called out Henderson, urging him to play more aggressively and emphasize the defensive end.
"We have that long talk, and then in practice, he came out and destroyed everybody in front of him," Billups said. "Offense. Defense. Destroyed. He was ferocious. He hasn't looked back since that day."
Billups has had a positive impact on Henderson this season, but the progress he's made with Portland's ascending point guard could come to an end after this season with Billups' future as the Blazers' head coach in question.
Billups has finally helped Henderson turn a corner, but Blazers may lose him to the coaching carousel
NBA insider Marc Stein recently covered Billups' contract situation (subscription required) on The Stein Line. Billups leaving the Blazers at the end of the season seemed inevitable entering the season. However, Stein notes that the decision is more complicated now that Portland has been playing more winning basketball lately.
Stein specifically mentions the impact Billups, being a Hall of Fame point guard, has had on Henderson as a reason to keep him around.
"That would make sense, too, given that Billups — who endured his own rocky start to NBA life as a player before he began to establish a path to the Basketball Hall of Fame when he landed with his fourth team in Minnesota — has considerable experience and wisdom to pass along to Blazers franchise guard Scoot Henderson."
Although the likelihood of the Blazers retaining Billups has increased with their improved play, there's still a realistic possibility that this is, in fact, his last season in Portland.
Another coach could give Henderson an increased role, as Billups has relied heavily on veterans this season. But at the same time, it's unlikely they can reach Henderson and unlock his All-Star level ceiling as well as someone like Billups, who, as Stein notes, has personal experience taking similar necessary steps throughout his own playing career.
The Blazers need to make Scoot a focal point of their rebuild -- he's the player they've invested the most draft capital in and has shown enough improvement this season for the Blazers to feel comfortable with him moving forward. They should approach this offseason with Henderson's long-term success as a priority in any decisions that need to be made.
From that standpoint, their best bet could be running back the Billups-Henderson pairing, but with Anfernee Simons out of the equation. This would give Henderson the increased role Billups hasn't prioritized while still allowing Scoot to benefit from the valuable Hall of Fame point guard experience Billups offers.