Blazers take Scoot Henderson with No. 3 pick in 2023 NBA draft

After weeks of speculation over a potential pre-draft trade, the Portland Trail Blazers stood pat and selected G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson with the third pick in the NBA draft Thursday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Leading up to the draft, Henderson and Alabama forward Brandon Miller went back and forth as the No. 2 prospects behind generational French big man Victor Wembanyama, who was taken No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.

Ultimately, the Charlotte Hornets went with Miller with the second pick, leaving the Blazers to take Henderson, who will now join a burgeoning young core that includes last year’s seventh overall pick, Shaedon Sharpe, and 24-year-old guard Anfernee Simons.

Rounding out the top five were Amen Thompson, who went No. 4 to the Houston Rockets, and Ausar Thompson, who went fifth to the Detroit Pistons. The twin brothers, who both attended Overtime Elite, are the first siblings to go in the top 10 of the same draft.

“They’re getting a dog,” Henderson said on the ESPN broadcast when asked what the Blazers can expect from him. “They’re getting a dog that’s gonna come in and be hungry. I’m young, but I’ve got a mature mindset, and that’s to work and to come in and make a real impact, not just the basketball side, but the community. So they’re getting a special player, a special person.”

At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Henderson, 19, is the prototypical point guard prospect. He spent the past two seasons playing for the G League Ignite, the NBA’s developmental team in the G League, averaging 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.5 assists across 19 regular-season games this past season. He also has averaged 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 17 games over the past two seasons in Showcase Cup games, the G League’s in-season tournament.

The Blazers are led, of course, by superstar guard Damian Lillard, whose name has been bandied about in trade discussions over the past few weeks. Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15, might see that talk increase in the wake of Portland hanging onto the third pick and adding another young player rather than trading it to add a veteran in an attempt to improve right away.

Lillard, a seven-time All-Star who arrived in Portland as the No. 6 overall pick in 2012, is coming off arguably his best season, averaging a career-high 32.9 points, 7.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds. But the Blazers still missed the playoffs for the second straight season after making it in eight straight.

In addition to Lillard’s situation, Portland also has to sort out the future of forward Jerami Grant, who will be an unrestricted free agent next month. Grant was acquired by Blazers in a trade with the Detroit Pistons last summer and averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists for Portland last season.