Trail Blazers News: Scoot Henderson's Underwhelming Rookie Season Defended By Pundit

Portland Trail Blazers rookie point guard Scoot Henderson, the third pick from among this season's loaded draft class, may not be a contender for Rookie of the Year or even All-Rookie First Team honors, but he did finish with a respectable close to 2023-24, posits Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report.

"Most metrics have [fellow Blazers rookies] Duop Reath, Toumani Camara and, well... almost every other rookie on planet Earth grading out as more positively impactful than Henderson was this season," Hughes conceded. "We're giving him something of a pass for his brutal first year and focusing on the long-term upside and flashes of potential that made him the No. 3 pick."

The 6'3" vet out of the G League Ignite averaged 14 points on .385/.325/.819 shooting splits, 5.4 assists (against 3.4 turnovers), 3.1 rebounds, and 0.8 steals, plus a -5.8 box plus-minus.

"In his best moments, Henderson shows you what he can become," Hughes allowed. "He makes good transition reads that belie an unselfish makeup. He uses his strength to put frail defenders all the way under the basket before rising to finish. He freezes his man with deft hesitation dribbles."

"We didn't see nearly enough of those skills this season, but they're there," Hughes concluded.