Before leaving Friday’s game with a right shoulder injury, Trail Blazers guard Scoot Henderson showed why he’s considered one of the elite talents in this year’s draft class, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic.
In a matchup with Rockets rookie Amen Thompson, Henderson turned in a breathtaking performance with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds in 21 minutes before being pulled from the game midway through the third quarter. Quick notes that Henderson showed off his feel for the game and the highly touted physical skills that made him the No. 3 overall pick.
“He has so much fire,” Portland coach Chauncey Billups said. “He never hangs his head, even when things go bad. And he has an ability to bring guys with him, if that makes sense. At a young age, that’s not easy. And I’ll be honest with you: the fact he played in the G League for the last two years? At 17, he has led men already. He’s been doing this for a while and most people don’t put enough credit on that.”
Henderson wasn’t made available to reporters after the game, and the team didn’t offer an update on his condition. It wasn’t clear when or how the injury occurred, but he was scheduled for an evaluation Friday night, with more news likely to come today.
There’s more on the Trail Blazers:
- Regardless of what the medical tests show, there’s a good chance Henderson won’t play any more in Las Vegas, Quick adds. He points out that the team had a similar situation last year with Shaedon Sharpe, who suffered a small labral tear in his left shoulder during his first game and was held out for the rest of Summer League. Henderson wasn’t in obvious pain after the game and didn’t have a sling or wrap on his shoulder, Quick tweets.
- Keon Johnson will miss the rest of Summer League after dislocating his right index finger Friday night, according to Quick (Twitter link). Johnson battled through injuries last season, including a fractured finger.
- Damian Lillard has put the Blazers in a difficult position with his insistence to be traded to the Heat, and it’s in the best interest of both sides to avoid a nasty separation, states Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian. Portland officials reportedly aren’t impressed by Miami’s initial offer, and there’s a chance that trade negotiations will drag on throughout the summer.
Blazers need to stop this and get Lowry, Robinson, Jovic and Jaime, and couple of first. Lowry is expiring quality veteran presence that can be traded at deadline, Robinson improved last season and he too can be shipped at deadline to a contender. Real prize are two forwards and too some extent picks. Blazers have pair of guards for future core and they should welcome 2 talented forwards.
By the end of sl that heat offer could be off. Both guys are doing good in sl, and heat my think that keeping them is their best choice
Homer take
Ultimately, the Blazers are in complete control of the situation, as Lillard still has several years remaining on his current contract and doesn’t possess a no-trade clause.
Donovan Mitchell was traded to Cavs, not Knicks
IMO
Firm requirement: “a star level player”
no need to be firm: 4 future Firsts
I hope the heat make that decision. If you want a first ballot HOF and top 75 all time player it should hurt. The rumored trade package is laughable. If the heat want to get the trade done, just replace Herro with Bam and it’s a done deal.
Every Heat fan everywhere keeps talking about how great Herro is, then keep him and set Bam free.
Lowry – not good, owed a massive amount of money, Heat trying to dump him. Remember that an expiring deal is only good if a team can use the money, and no high profile FAs ever go to Portland
Robinson – not good, routinely cited as one of the worst contracts in the league, Heat trying to dump him.
Jovic – completely unproven project forward. A lottery ticket essentially. Could end up being something, but the odds are long.
Jaime – mid-round 1st. Not sure what the odds are of him developing, but his ceiling is probably role player.
Couple of 1sts – likely to be picks in the mid- to late-1st round as Miami doesn’t pick often in the lottery.
All in all, this is an extremely weak return. If this is all Miami has to offer, the Blazers have no reason to trade Lillard to Miami.
It’s very clear that Blazers want 2024-27 Firsts, not 2028 and 2030
Heat need to think about Blazers GM job
The Blazers shouldn’t do any such thing. That’s a pile of crap for a top 75 player. If they don’t really want him that bad, someone else can step up. And if it takes awhile for that to happen, Dame can sit until it does. He has zero leverage.
Blazer’s just need to be patient and wait, there is no benefit for Portland to rush anything, offer’s will only get better as the season goes on
example
What should Lillard do If 76ers trade Harris and Maxey for Lillard?
76ers have given up assets for him and they have big 3
Embiid
Lillard
Harden
They would refuse to trade Lillard for Lowry or Herro package
Maxey contract $4 million per year, Herro contract $30 million per year
Would Harden stay if Dame was traded to sixers tomorrow? How would he and Dame fit together on the court? On paper at least that big three would have a great chance to win it.
What “offer” has the Heat ever made? I must have missed that. All I read is that Portland “isn’t impressed by what the Heat have” or words to that effect. This churning is giving me horrendous gas!