The Portland Trail Blazers may have been the team to watch heading into the 2023 NBA Draft. For weeks in the lead-up to Thursday night, there were questions about whether the Blazers would pull off a gigantic trade, whether that meant sending Damian Lillard to a contender and fully embracing a rebuild or moving the No. 3 overall pick to get help around Lillard right now.
Ultimately, Portland took the simplest approach and just used the pick to select Scoot Henderson, the G League Ignite guard who has the potential to be a future All-Star in the league. Naturally, that led to questions about what the future holds for Lillard, but in an interview with Taylor Rooks after he was drafted, Henderson laid out why he believes the best thing for Lillard would be to stay in Portland.
"If we combine our games, it'll be over." 👀@thereal013 lets @TaylorRooks know to look out for a Dame-Scoot backcourt 🔥 pic.twitter.com/3VzVCAUpzU
— NBA TV (@NBATV) June 23, 2023
“Honestly, I think Dame should stay cause I think, if we combine our games, it’ll be over,” Henderson said. “We kind of complement each other’s games, we’re both fun to watch, ticket sales would go up, all that. All the good stuff would happen if he stays.”
Henderson went on to shout out Shaedon Sharpe, the team’s 2022 first-round pick who flashed during his first year in the NBA. For all the smoke around Lillard’s future and how he does not want to be part of a rebuilding team, he did say on a recent podcast appearance that he thinks he’s going to start next season as a member of the Blazers. But still, Henderson realized he had the chance to sell his Hall of Fame running mate on staying in Portland, so it makes sense he’d take it.
