How Does Scoot Henderson Fit with the Hornets?
Scoot Henderson is as skilled as he is thick. His 6'2" frame is well-built for a 19-year-old and the projected lottery pick is going to make a big impact wherever he ends up in the NBA. Scoot is a talented point guard who will help jump-start any team immediately. How will he fit in Charlotte?
Scoot Henderson - Guard, G-League Ignite
2022-23 stats: 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 3.5 turnovers, 0.6 blocks, 1.1 steals
42.9% field goal, 27.5% three-point (2.7 attempts per game), 76.4% free throw
Strengths:
Everything in these strengths and weakness sections will be looked at through a Hornets-specific lens.
Henderson is as complete of a point guard prospect that has entered the draft in some time. He checks a ton of boxes that you want in a franchise guard. He's athletic, smart, creates plays for teammates, handles the ball well, competes on defense, and can get his own shot in a variety of ways.
Draft analysts compare Scoot to guys like Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, which is perfectly fair. All three of those guards are high flyers who make plays with athleticism but have struggles shooting the ball consistently. They are strong and physical while playing with skill and finesse.
The 2022-23 Hornets had a similar player (albeit not on the same level, but maybe the off-brand version), in Dennis Smith Jr.
When LaMelo and Smith Jr. shared the court (272 minutes this season) the Hornets' net rating was 1.3. There's a significant amount of noise in lineup data like that, but the Hornets being a net positive with those two in the backcourt shows that there is a natural fit for a guy like Scoot to play alongside Ball. Compare that 1.2 net rating with Charlotte's 27th-ranked -6.3 net rating and you see the vision.
LaMelo is at his best when the ball is in his hands, but he has developed into an elite off-ball player as well. Ball shot the three at 41.1% on his catch-and-shoot opportunities this year. It's easy to imagine Henderson dishing the ball to a spotted-up LaMelo after blowing by his defender at the point of attack.
While Henderson isn't as prolific of a shooter as LaMelo, he thrives around the rim. Scoot shot 60% within five feet for G-League Ignite this past season. He marries his explosive leaping ability with a deep bag of finishes around the rim with both hands. Henderson has shown the ability to finish over, around, and on top of defenders twice his size, and we've all seen what LaMelo can do with an explosive finisher playing offense alongside him.
Even without LaMelo on the floor, Henderson will bring life to a Hornets offense that desperately needs it. 65% (74/115) of Henderson's field goals for G-League Ignite were unassisted, showing a creative ability that the Hornets are severely lacking. Charlotte was dead last in the league in offensive rating, and if you watched the team, you saw plenty of possessions where the offense was stuck in the mud.
Lastly, Henderson fits what Charlotte already does well, which is score in transition. The Hornets were sixth in the league in percentage of points scored in transition, and eighth in their percentage of points scored off turnovers.
Henderson is a walking highlight reel and a two-man fastbreak of LaMelo and Scoot would bring fireworks to the Queen City.
Weaknesses:
The only question mark I have about Scoot and his fit in Charlotte is on the defensive end. While he's a strong and physical player on both ends, his 6'2" height will make him a target for opposing defenses. Teams don't need two plus defenders in their starting backcourt, but starting two potentially minus defenders will hurt Charlotte early on in the Scoot/LaMelo partnership.
LaMelo has his moments of anticipation, athleticism, and smarts to use his long arms to disrupt passing lanes, but he's still a below-average on-ball defender. The same goes for Scoot.
He's listed at 6'2", but his wingspan is reportedly 6'9". Scoot is a hyper-competitive off-ball defender who flies around disrupting passes and plays, but he still struggles a bit on-ball. I liken his defense to Russell Westbrook.
Westbrook has always had a penchant for big highlight plays on defense, and if you just scroll through Twitter you would think that he's an elite player on that end. However, Russ has always been a mediocre defender at the point of attack and I project Scoot to end up being the same way. He'll make breathtaking plays once or twice a night, but over an 82-game season, he'll be more of a liability.
With plus rim protectors behind him like Mark Williams and Kai Jones, Henderson's messes will get cleaned up more often than not which is encouraging.
His competitive fire raises his defensive ceiling, and by all accounts, Scoot is a hard worker and it has the chance to improve immensely. Judging a 19-year-old's defense in a fool's errand, but when a prospect is as complete as Henderson those weaknesses are hard to come by and one has to be a little nit-picky.
On offense, the only question mark around Henderson is his catch-and-shoot ability. He's more comfortable pulling up off the dribble and shooting long twos, but he's a significantly below-average shooter on the wings (8/34 this season). However, it's not that long ago that a guard prospect with mega talent and questionable shooting ability turned into a long-range sniper in Charlotte. Could Scoot be next?
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