Henderson goes 3rd, ‘hoping’ to play with Lillard

NEW YORK — After weeks of speculation over a potential pre-draft trade, the Portland Trail Blazers stood pat and selected G League Ignite guard Scoot Henderson with the third pick in the NBA draft Thursday night.

Leading up to the draft, Henderson and Alabama forward Brandon Miller went back and forth as the No. 2 prospects behind generational French big man Victor Wembanyama, who was taken No. 1 overall by the San Antonio Spurs.

Ultimately, the Charlotte Hornets went with Miller with the second pick, leaving the Blazers to take Henderson, who will now join a burgeoning young core that includes last year’s seventh overall pick, Shaedon Sharpe, and 24-year-old guard Anfernee Simons.

Rounding out the top five of Thursday’s draft were Amen Thompson, who went No. 4 to the Houston Rockets, and Ausar Thompson, who went fifth to the Detroit Pistons. The identical twin brothers, who played together as part of the Overtime Elite program, are the first siblings to go in the top 10 of the same draft.

“They’re getting a dog,” Henderson said on the ESPN broadcast when asked what the Blazers can expect from him. “They’re getting a dog that’s gonna come in and be hungry. I’m young, but I’ve got a mature mindset, and that’s to work and to come in and make a real impact, not just the basketball side, but the community. So they’re getting a special player, a special person.”

At 6-foot-2, 195 pounds, Henderson, 19, is the prototypical point guard prospect. He spent the past two seasons playing for the G League Ignite, the NBA’s developmental team in the G League, averaging 16.5 points, 5.4 rebounds and 6.5 assists across 19 regular-season games this past season. He also has averaged 16.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in 17 games over the past two seasons in Showcase Cup games, the G League’s in-season tournament.

The Blazers are led by superstar guard Damian Lillard, whose name has been bandied about in trade discussions over the past few weeks. Lillard, who turns 33 on July 15, might see that talk increase in the wake of Portland hanging onto the third pick and adding another young player rather than trading it to add a veteran in an attempt to improve right away.

Lillard, a seven-time All-Star who arrived in Portland as the No. 6 overall pick in 2012, is coming off arguably his best season, averaging a career-high 32.9 points, 7.3 assists and 4.8 rebounds. But the Blazers still missed the playoffs for the second straight season after making it to the postseason in each of the prior eight campaigns.

In addition to Lillard’s situation, Portland also has to sort out the future of forward Jerami Grant, who will be an unrestricted free agent next month. Grant was acquired by Blazers in a trade with the Detroit Pistons last summer and averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists for Portland last season.

After Arkansas guard Anthony Black went to the Orlando Magic with the sixth pick, the Indiana Pacers and Washington Wizards swapped lottery picks. The Pacers selected French forward Bilal Coulibaly with the No. 7 pick and then traded him to the Washington Wizards for Houston forward Jarace Walker. The Wizards sent two future second-round picks to the Pacers in the deal, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Utah took University of Central Florida forward Taylor Hendricks with the ninth pick, marking the first time UCF has had a player taken in the first round, before another trade saw the Oklahoma City Thunder trade up with the Dallas Mavericks, moving from the 12th pick to No. 10 to take Kentucky guard Cason Wallace. Oklahoma City also took on forward Davis Bertans, who is owed $17 million for the 2023-24 season and has a $5 million partial guarantee on his contract for the 2024-25 season, to make the deal. Dallas gets 12th pick Dereck Lively II, the center from Duke.

Orlando used its second lottery selection with the 11th pick to take Michigan forward Jett Howard, the son of longtime NBA forward and current Michigan coach Juwan Howard, while Toronto selected Kansas guard Gradey Dick with the 13th pick.

With the final pick in the lottery, the New Orleans Pelicans then selected Connecticut guard Jordan Hawkins, who helped lead the Huskies to their fifth national championship in April.