The Ja Morant trade has given the Portland Trail Blazers a backcourt problem they probably didn’t mind having a few days ago: too much talent, not enough room. After sending Jerami Grant and Kris Murray to the Memphis Grizzlies, Portland suddenly has a crowded mix of guards, and the biggest name squeezed by the move is Scoot Henderson.
That was already a tricky situation before Morant arrived. Henderson, the No. 3 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, entered Portland with the kind of hype that usually comes with being viewed alongside Wembanyama in a draft class.
But the fit has never been simple. The Blazers moved Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks only a few months after drafting Henderson, which opened the door for him to become the team’s next lead guard.
Instead, he spent his first two seasons working through the kind of development curve that comes with jumping from G League Ignite to the NBA.
By his third year, Portland still wasn’t ready to hand him the offense. That’s why the team traded for Drew Holiday from the Boston Celtics, a move that blocked Henderson from the starting five. Then a torn hamstring took most of the season away from him anyway.
Henderson finally made his 2026 debut in February and ended up playing 30 regular-season games. It was the best stretch of his career so far, with Henderson averaging 14.2 points per game, mostly as a reserve. Portland liked enough of what it saw to start him in the first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs, where he had his highs and lows before the Blazers were eliminated in five games.
Then came the Morant deal.
Now the picture is even more crowded. With Morant in Portland, Lillard back and healthy, and Holiday still on the roster, Henderson has a much steeper climb if he wants to become the franchise point guard many once expected him to be. At one point, he was viewed as the player who could shut the door on any real path forward with the team.
That’s why Portland may still have another move to make before the season starts. The Blazers could use some balance, and the roster still has a clear need for a wing who can defend and help cover for the size issues created by so much guard-heavy talent. Whether Joe Cronin and the front office actually pursue that kind of trade remains to be seen, but it’s the sort of idea that has almost certainly come up more than once this offseason.
In Other News...
Blazers Just Lost A Key Defensive Wing In Free Agency
Matisse Thybulles run in Portland had the feel of a useful fit that never quite got the clean runway it deserved. Injuries kept interrupting his time with the Trail Blazers, but when he was on the floor, he gave them the kind of perimeter defense and disruptive energy that mattered during the teams late-season push toward the playoffs.
Now the Blazers have to replace that edge after Thybulle moved on in free agency on a one-year deal with the Lakers. Portland had explored a reunion, but only on non-guaranteed terms, a sign of how carefully the front office is balancing roster flexibility against the value of a wing who can still tilt games on the defensive end. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Suddenly Have A Wing Problem Fans Wont Ignore
Portlands wing rotation took a hit this offseason, and the ripple effects are hard to miss. With Matisse Thybulle gone, the Trail Blazers are suddenly looking at a thinner group on the perimeter and a bench role that needs filling by someone already in the building. The most obvious candidate is Vit Krejci, who is expected to handle more of the backup wing minutes as Portland tries to patch together a workable rotation.
Krejcis first run with the Blazers last season did not give the team much reason for comfort, as his shot went cold and his minutes faded late in the year. Even so, the organization is set to ask for more from him in the 2026-27 season, which leaves Portland in a familiar spot for a team trying to balance development with immediate roster needs. If the Blazers do not find a cleaner answer soon, the pressure on that wing spot is only going to grow. [Read more 🡒]
Blazers Arena Standoff Just Took A Much More Alarming Turn
The talks over the Moda Center have reached a far more delicate stage, with the Portland Trail Blazers and the city still trying to hammer out a 20-year lease tied to $600 million in public funding for renovations. The citys proposal includes annual payments and union labor requirements, but the two sides have not been on the same page, leaving a deal that was supposed to secure the buildings future looking increasingly unsettled.
For the Blazers, the concern is no longer just the terms on the table in Portland. The team has reportedly started looking at other arena possibilities, including the possibility of a different arrangement in the city, which is a sign of how much leverage and uncertainty now hangs over the negotiations. For a franchise that wants clarity on its long-term home, the standoff has become a lot more than a routine civic dispute. [Read more 🡒]