With the best player in franchise history on his way out, the door is open for a new face to take the reigns in Portland and there is no one better for it than Scoot Henderson.
As the no. 3 pick in the 2023 Draft, Scoot came to Portland with big ambitions and dreams of being a star. At first, Lillard’s presence made the entire situation very complicated but now that he’s officially working his way out, Henderson is ready to rise to the occasion and become the face of the Blazers franchise.
“I would love to play with him we have a great relationship,” said Scoot on Dame. “Whatever happens, happens and I’m just focusing on how I can get better and help impact the team and get ready for summer league.”
Henderson hasn’t played a minute of NBA action but he’s confident that he can be the next guy to lead the Trail Blazers
“I’m ready to embrace that,” said Henderson. “I feel like as long as I’m mentally strong, and I’m comfortable with everything that’s going on in my life and I’m going to embrace it, embrace the city of Portland, embrace the fans, embrace the love and the hate as well because that comes with it.”
Scoot Henderson said following summer league practice that he hadn’t paid much attention to the Damian Lillard situation but is ready to embrace becoming one of the faces of the franchise. #ripcity pic.twitter.com/ICeKlMRz0F
— Aaron J. Fentress (@AaronJFentress) July 1, 2023
As an athletic point guard with the will to win, Scoot has all the potential in the world and it will be interesting to see how he handles the pressure of being a featured member of a young NBA team.
Why Did The Blazers Keep Scoot Henderson?
Lillard’s impending trade can be traced back to this year’s draft. Coming into it, there was a sense that the Blazers needed to trade that pick if they wanted to appease their star but they kept the pick believing that Scoot was better than any package they could have received.
“[The Blazers] felt like picking [Scoot Henderson] was better than any other trades that could have been had,” reported Chris Haynes. “They’re trying to sell to Dame that they’re not in a rebuild.”
Needless to say, keeping Henderson may have sealed their fate with Dame but there’s no going back now. At the very least, at least Scoot looks up to the challenge of being in the spotlight.
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