First competitor of Victor Wembanyama for the number 1 spot in the 2023 Draft, Scooter Henderson eventually finished in third place. Because Charlotte, holder of the second choice, already had her “franchise player” in the lead, and therefore preferred to bet on another profile.
Upon arrival, the former leader of Team Ignite therefore landed in Portland, which did not hesitate to rush on this big talent, even if his development could come into conflict with the status of Damian Lillard.
Finally, the latter demanded his transfer and, inevitably, the situation is delicate for the young player.
“I feel so blessed to be a Blazer, to be around Chauncey Billups, to have Clyde Drexler and people like that. And Dame was also there to talk to me”, he told The Ringer “. “He taught me to always keep my feet on the ground. A guy like Dame is really very humble and always comes back to his job. I have a bit of similar traits and so I feed off of his experience about that.”
Prepared for any eventuality
For the time being, the rookie has injured his shoulder after making a strong impression in the Summer League and the vagueness reigns around the Lillard case, the franchise being ready to prolong the standoff until it has not got what she wants in return. Scoot Henderson can therefore only wait before knowing the rest.
“Anyway, I will continue to follow my path. It is something beyond my control. Professional sport is a business after all. I do things day by day, and like you, I will listen to rumors and watch what is being said. I haven’t really been on the networks to really see what’s going on, but I’m here with the Summer League team, and my main objective, of course now that I’m injured, is to support my crew “he added.
Scoot Henderson sees the bright side of things, whatever the outcome. If Damian Lillard, who is celebrating his 33rd birthday today, were to stay, he would benefit from the presence of a perfect mentor alongside his coach, Chauncey Billups, as well as Pooh Jeter, former teammate of Scoot Henderson who recently joined the staff of the Blazers.
Conversely, if “Lady Time” managed to change the tune, he would then leave the way open to her in the lead.
” Exactly. And I agree with that. If he leaves, I would know how to accept it. I will agree to be the playmaker of the team. And that will come with practice. My place is not guaranteed, I know that. My goal is to improve every day in training and improve match after match.”
| Shots | Bounces | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Players | GM | Minimum | Shots | 3 points | LF | Off | Def | Early | pd | bp | Int | CT | party | Points |
| Damian Lillard | 58 | 36.3 | 46.3 | 37.1 | 91.4 | 0.8 | 4.0 | 4.8 | 7.3 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 32.2 |
| Anfernee Simons | 62 | 35.0 | 44.7 | 37.7 | 89.4 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 2.1 | 0.7 | 0.2 | 2.3 | 21.1 |
| Jerami Grant | 63 | 35.6 | 47.5 | 40.1 | 81.3 | 0.8 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 2.4 | 20.5 |
| Skylar Mays | 6 | 31.5 | 50.0 | 46.2 | 92.3 | 0.3 | 2.8 | 3.2 | 8.3 | 1.7 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.8 | 15.3 |
| Jusuf Nurkic | 52 | 26.8 | 51.9 | 36.1 | 66.1 | 2.2 | 6.9 | 9.1 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 0.8 | 0.8 | 3.6 | 13.3 |
| Cam Reddish | 20 | 27.6 | 44.3 | 31.8 | 83.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 2.9 | 1.9 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 11.0 |
| Nate Williams, Jr. | 5 | 25.3 | 61.5 | 37.5 | 66.7 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 2.6 | 10.6 |
| Shaedon Sharpe | 80 | 22.2 | 47.2 | 36.0 | 71.4 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 3.0 | 1.2 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 9.9 |
| Josh Hart | 51 | 33.4 | 50.4 | 30.4 | 73.1 | 1.9 | 6.3 | 8.2 | 3.9 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 2.6 | 9.5 |
| Shaquille Harrison | 5 | 24.0 | 41.7 | 30.0 | 73.3 | 0.2 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 1.2 | 2.2 | 0.4 | 2.4 | 8.8 |
| Kevin Knox | 21 | 17.1 | 44.4 | 31.4 | 74.1 | 0.7 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 0.9 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 8.5 |
| Matisse Thybulle | 22 | 27.7 | 43.8 | 38.8 | 62.5 | 0.9 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 1.4 | 0.7 | 1.7 | 0.8 | 2.2 | 7.4 |
| Trendon Watford | 62 | 19.1 | 56.0 | 39.1 | 72.0 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 3.8 | 2.1 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 7.4 |
| Comanche Luck | 1 | 20.8 | 60.0 | 0.0 | 25.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 7.0 |
| Justise Winslow | 29 | 26.8 | 40.9 | 31.1 | 71.4 | 1.7 | 3.3 | 5.0 | 3.4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 6.8 |
| Nassir Little | 54 | 18.1 | 44.2 | 36.7 | 71.7 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 2.6 | 0.9 | 0.7 | 0.4 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 6.6 |
| Drew Eubanks | 78 | 20.3 | 64.1 | 38.9 | 66.4 | 1.7 | 3.7 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 0.9 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 6.6 |
| Keon Johnson | 40 | 10.4 | 37.6 | 34.6 | 65.9 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 1.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 4.7 |
| Justin Minaya | 4 | 22.2 | 30.4 | 25.0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 3.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 4.3 |
| Gary Payton II | 15 | 17.0 | 58.5 | 52.9 | 100.0 | 0.7 | 1.9 | 2.6 | 1.5 | 0.8 | 1.1 | 0.1 | 1.9 | 4.1 |
| Jabari Walker | 56 | 11.1 | 41.9 | 28.6 | 75.6 | 0.9 | 1.5 | 2.3 | 0.6 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1.2 | 3.9 |
| Ryan Arcidiacono | 9 | 16.2 | 25.0 | 35.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.6 | 2.6 |
| John Butler | 19 | 11.6 | 32.1 | 22.9 | 75.0 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 0.9 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 1.2 | 2.4 |
| Greg Brown III | 16 | 5.8 | 39.3 | 14.3 | 41.7 | 0.1 | 1.1 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 1.8 |
