Deni Avdija May Have Eliminated Dire Need For Scoot Henderson's Return

Scoot Henderson will not be returning to the Portland Trail Blazers anytime soon. Per RotoWire, Henderson isn't projected to return to the team by the end of the year. A January return may be the best-case scenario, with Henderson week-to-week with a torn left hamstring.

"Henderson (hamstring) has been ruled out for Saturday's matchup against the Kings," RotoWire's staff relayed. "Henderson sustained a torn left hamstring in September and remains without a timetable for a return. The 21-year-old point guard is still limited to non-contact work and should be considered week-to-week until Portland offers another update on his recovery."

Henderson's absence, along with Jrue Holiday's, which was caused by a right calf strain in November, has led to the rise of Shaedon Sharpe in the backcourt, but more notably, Deni Avdija emerging as the team's primary facilitator.

Avdija is averaging 6.3 assists per game, though that's accompanied by 3.6 turnovers per game. It's not the cleanest assist-turnover ratio, and yet it's better than Henderson's career 5.2-assist, three-turnover ratio.

Does that mean Henderson doesn't have a role on the team anymore? No. Besides Holiday, in a 12-game sample size, no regular rotation member has more than three assists per game thus far.

But Henderson may not have the same responsibilities when he's back healthy.

Scoot Henderson May Have Lost Starting Spot Because of Deni Avdija

Who do you take out of the starting lineup for Scoot? Certainly not Avdija. Probably not Sharpe. A Jerami Grant trade could make sense to alleviate this issue, since Toumani Camara provides a lot of the upside at a much cheaper rate. That's not a guarantee, though.

Henderson may have found himself caught up in a classic numbers crunch in the Rose City. If he can accept a backup role, there's a need he can fill.

If not, the team is winning too often and showing too much promise to shake things up just to accommodate him.