Amid the increasing uncertainty of the future between Damian Lillard and the Portland Trail Blazers after the franchise’s lottery draft selection this Thursday, Scoot Henderson is nothing but optimistic about how he will blend with the superstar guard.
Henderson, the third overall pick of the 2023 Draft, believes that his slashing game complements well to Lillard’s marksmanship despite the visible redundancy of the two at-the-point man positions.
“I’d like to get to the paint, and I know Dames does too… I think my game is very exciting and very fast paced,” he said. “I can get up and down on both ends of the floor. I think it’ll be very complementary to each other that we play with each other. I think it’ll work out pretty great with Shaedon [Sharpe], just based on the other side of the roster.
“[To the] whole bunch of guys on that team, I’m ready to play with, and grow with and build that chemistry as well.”
All league circles are watching Lillard as he voiced out his demands to play with veterans and gain a strong supporting cast since the regular season-ending of the franchise this 2022-23, and the Blazers reportedly went on to look and canvass the market as a response by pairing their No. 3 pick and their promising players in the likes of Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe to potentially land a transactional splash. Ultimately, Portland opted to capitalize on their draft pick and selected Henderson as the third overall prospect.
It is yet to be seen what will be the eventual decision of Lillard as the Blazers decided to stick with their lottery pick with trades yet to be executed for the team to improve. Lillard cemented his commitment to Portland with his unwavering loyalty, but this offseason serves as a critical chapter for both sides to either continue their partnership or cut their ties and head toward different directions.
Henderson admitted that he hasn’t engaged in significant talks yet with Lillard, but he is confident that their pairing would go well as days go by.
“We’ve been in touch just getting conversation out of each other,” he said about Lillard. “I just wanted to say what’s up to him. Say what’s up to my new teammate at that. Just kind of introduce myself to new teammate, but we haven’t talked too much about how we’re going to play alongside each other.
“I think that’s something that just comes naturally.
