Blazers hold onto No. 3 pick and select Scoot Henderson

PORTLAND,Ore. (AP) — The Portland Trail Blazers selected point guard ScootHenderson of the NBA G League with the third overall pick intheNBAdrafton Thursday night.

The picktouched off speculation that Henderson could be packaged in a tradeif Portland pursues a high-profile veteran to join All-Star guardDamian Lillard.

Or, shouldLillard ask for a trade, Henderson could be part of a rebuild. Orthe Blazers could play them both.

Blazersgeneral manager Joe Cronin was clear: The Trail Blazers wantLillard to stay in Portland, and they want to build a winning teamaround him.

“I would saythat my goal is to keep both of them,” Cronin said. “I would loveto see Dame retire a Trail Blazer. I have zero desire to trade him.I really hopes this works out here. And I think you can tell howexcited I am about Scoot Henderson. He has a chance to be a specialplayer in this league.”

After the SanAntonio Spurs took French teenagerVictorWembanyamawith the top pick and the Charlotte Hornetstook forwardBrandonMillerout of Alabama, Henderson fell to the Blazers withNo. 3.

Hendersonscouted himself as “somebody that’s going to come in and attack thebasket every single time, put pressure on the defense and play bothsides of the floor. And a winner.”

Henderson, a6-foot-2 teenager from Georgia who has been compared to RussellWestbrook, spent two years with the G League Ignite.Hehas also connected with Golden State guard StephenCurry,who offered Henderson support and resources.

Last seasonwith Ignite, Henderson averaged 17.6 points and a team-high 6.5assists. He also brings defense — something the Blazers have sorelyneeded. He graduated from high school in Marietta, Georgia, earlyto become the youngest player ever in the G League.

Henderson,19, wore a black suit coat bedazzled with rhinestones for thedraft.

“I’m youngbut I’ve got a mature mindset, and that’s to come in and work andmake a real impact, not just on the basketball side but in thecommunity,” he said.

Henderson’sfull name is Sterling Jewell Henderson. He earned the nicknameScoot when he was a toddler and used to scoot around on the floor.He’s from a basketball family, too. Younger sister Crystal“Moochie” Henderson is headed to Georgia State.

With the 23rdpick Thursday night, the Blazers selected forward Kris Murray, twinbrother of Sacramento Kings forward Keegan Murray. Kris Murrayaveraged 20.2 points last season as a junior at Iowa.

Portland alsoaddedFrenchguard Rayan Rupertwith the 43rd selection.

The Blazersmissed the playoffs this season for the second straight year,finishing 33-49 and in 13th in the Western Conference. That wasdespite the best efforts of Lillard, who averaged a career-high32.2 points a game, third-best in the league. But in the end,Portland was plagued by inopportune injuries and inconsistentplay.

The seasonwasn’t without some high points —namelyLillard’s 71-point game.He set the franchise and careerrecord in a late February game against the Houston Rockets. He alsofinished the game with 13 3-pointers.

ShouldPortland decide to play Henderson with Lillard, Anfernee Simons’role in the backcourt could be uncertain. Simons started 62 gameslast season, averaging 21.1 points and 4.1 assists.

The team alsohas rookie Shaedon Sharpe, the seventh overall pick in the 2022draft. He averaged 9.8 points but wowed fans with highlight-reeldunks, showing his potential at the end of the season when many ofthe starters were shut down.

Croninsuggested the team isn’t done.

“There’sother stuff to do here. I feel like we’ve done a good job ofputting ourselves in a good position to make these moves and startto get aggressive and push our chips in,” he said. “We’ve got goodpicks, we’ve got good players, we’ve got a lot of talent in thisbuilding. And we’ve just got to fine tune it and get it balancedand ready to go.”