According to Blazers head coach Tiago Splitter, third-year guard Scoot Henderson is expected to make his return “very, very soon,” Joe Freeman reports for The Oregonian (Twitter link).
Henderson has missed the entire season to this point with a left hamstring tear, but it was recently reported that he is in the final stages of recovery. While Splitter and the team’s ownership have been wary of putting an exact timeline on when he could make his debut, it would appear that his time away from the team could be rapidly approaching its end.
The former third pick in the 2023 Draft, Henderson holds career averages of 13.3 points and 5.2 assists on 34.0% shooting from three in 27.5 minutes per game. Turnovers have been an issue for him early in his career, though he lowered his giveaways from 3.4 as a rookie to 2.7 in his second season.
The Blazers currently hold the ninth seed in the West while dealing with Jrue Holiday only playing 21 of the team’s 49 games. His return could help stabilize the point guard rotation while giving Portland more data on Henderson, who will be extension-eligible this summer.
We have more from around the Northwest:
- Splitter said that he talked to the newly-acquired Vit Krejci today, Freeman writes (via Twitter). Splitter notes that given the current makeup of the Blazers’ roster, Krejci will be a very welcome presence in the rotation. “He’s excited about coming here,” Splitter said. “Great shooter. A guy that doesn’t need many inches to shoot the basketball. And I think we are thirsty for a shooter like him … he’s a player that’s going to help us a lot.” Krejci is a career 40.5% shooter from three and is averaging a career-high 9.0 points per game this season. Portland is currently last in the NBA in terms of three-point percentage, hitting just 33.6% as a team.
- The Nuggets aren’t expected to move veterans like Jonas Valanciunas or Cameron Johnson at the trade deadline, writes Bennett Durando of the Denver Post, who says he would be “shocked” by such a move. Peyton Watson is also presumed to be off-limits, despite the Nuggets’ expected difficulty in retaining him this summer in free agency. Instead, Durando reiterates that Denver’s priorities will likely be getting under the luxury tax and converting two-way forward Spencer Jones into a standard deal. Zeke Nnaji is the player the Nuggets would most like to move, but his contract length makes any move difficult.
- Jamal Murray was named to his first All-Star game on Sunday, ending his run as one of the league’s most decorated players without an All-Star appearance. Several around the league felt it was long overdue, Durando writes. “When I saw (the announcement), so many things went through my mind,” coach David Adelman said. “Multiple 50-point games. Multiple 50-point games in the playoffs… Triple-double in the Finals. NBA champion. Most wins in the West over the last 10 years.” Ahead of the team’s faceoff with their Western Conference rivals in Oklahoma City, Thunder coach Mark Daignault echoed Adelman’s sentiment. “First of all, congrats to Jamal Murray,” Daigneault said, unprompted. “It’s remarkable he’s never been an All-Star. He’s an All-Star-level player. And very deserving this season.” Murray is the first Nugget All-Star outside of Nikola Jokic since Carmelo Anthony, Durando notes.