Notes, Thoughts and Takeaways From Trail Blazers' Exit Interviews
First-year assessments from Scoot Henderson and Deandre Ayton, plus Malcolm Brogdon's future and more.
📍 TUALATIN, Ore. — Following the end of the 2023-24 regular season, the Trail Blazers conducted exit interviews and end-of-season media availability at their practice facility on Monday. General manager Joe Cronin, head coach Chauncey Billups and most of the players spoke to reporters about the Blazers’ 21-61 showing in their first season without Damian Lillard, their plans for the offseason and more.
“Individually, there were a lot of successes,” Cronin said. “Scoot Henderson's last 20 games, Deandre Ayton post-All-Star break, Shaedon Sharpe's first 20 games, Toumani Camara's entire season, Kris Murray's emergence late, Rayan Rupert shooting the ball better, Dalano Banton post-trade deadline. We're seeing a lot of good things happen throughout our roster. We just need to get that more frequent, more consistent and happening more often, from two-ways on down, get better. That's our challenge this offseason. We're going to continue to be aggressive and [opportunistic], looking for ways to improve this roster for the near future and the long term.”
The players who spoke largely echoed those sentiments. They were happy with their individual growth, less than thrilled with the losing and frustrated with the lack of health and continuity that plagued them all season.
Henderson, Sharpe and Robert Williams III conducted their exit interviews last Friday following the Blazers’ final home game of the season due to scheduling conflicts this week. Ayton, Banton, Camara, Malcolm Brogdon, Matisse Thybulle, Anfernee Simons and Jabari Walker spoke on Monday. Jerami Grant was excused from exit interviews for personal reasons and did not meet with reporters.
Here’s a roundup of everything noteworthy that came out of these media sessions as the organization enters a crucial offseason leading into year two of the rebuild, including Brogdon’s future with the franchise, self-evaluation from Henderson and Ayton, some health updates and more.
Scoot Henderson ends on a high note
Henderson’s final stats for his highly anticipated rookie season: 14 points, 3.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 3.4 turnovers per game while shooting 38.5 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from three-point range.
Those numbers don’t exactly jump off the page for a No. 3 overall pick, and the lows were very rough. But the string of games Henderson put together to close out the season left everyone in the organization encouraged about where things are headed with the Blazers’ (hopeful) future franchise point guard.
“I think I grew the most as a leader, as a point guard, as a communicator on both sides of the floor and off the court as well,” Henderson said at his exit interview last week. “Just trying to bring guys together, whether it's me, or telling somebody to tell somebody this, I think I grew a lot there. My next-play mentality was [better] than what it was last year, and it wasn't as good as it's going to be next year, so I think that's going to continue to get better as well.”
Following the March 29 60-point loss in Miami in which Henderson recorded a plus-minus of -58, his final stretch of the season more than redeemed some of those rough patches. April was his best month of the year: 19.4 points, 3.4 rebounds and 9.7 assists in 36.1 minutes per game over eight games, and—most surprisingly of all—he shot 41.7 percent from three-point range on six attempts per game. And his last game of the season, against Houston on Friday, might have been his best performance of the entire year. He finished with 30 points, five rebounds, seven assists, a steal, a block, hit six three-pointers and only had one turnover.
“I think in the last 10 or 15 games, he took a huge step,” Brogdon said. “We got to see him actually play some really high-level basketball on both ends of the floor. People I think were really hard on him the first half of the season. It's hard being a top pick. It's hard dealing with all those [expectations]. It's something I never had to experience. But we saw him step into his own, accept it all, embrace it and become a way better player than he was at the beginning of the season. He should be very satisfied. Still hungry, but happy with how he performed to finish the season and the strides he made. He made huge strides. We saw why he was the third pick.”
What was most encouraging about Henderson’s final stretch of the season was that he was able to string good games together as a starter. In the earlier part of the year, he was much more comfortable coming off the bench than he was starting, which contributed to his rocky, up-and-down season. In some ways, the early-season ankle injury gave the Blazers cover to start bringing him off the bench when he came back, after his first five games in the NBA went about as badly as they could have.
Henderson started to find his footing with the move to the bench, but then was forced back into the starting lineup because of injuries, and struggled again. After that, the pattern continued: he mostly played well when he came off the bench and mostly looked overmatched when he started—until the final two weeks of the season.
What impressed teammates the most about Henderson was the way he navigated that inconsistency in role and production.
“His mentality never changed,” Jabari Walker said. “His composure, him as a leader, his attitude off the court, his personality, that never changed. That's something you have to respect. Me and Scoot have had great conversations off the court. You can tell he's a serious guy. You can tell he's dedicated. You can tell he wants to win. Before we stepped on the court together, his whole intention was to win and bring that to the program. When your intentions are right, it's only a matter of time before somebody figures it out. I think it's only uphill for him with that mindset.”
“He doesn't shy away from being our point guard,” Dalano Banton added. “He doesn't care that he's a rookie. He talks. He's vocal. He makes sure he says the things he has to say even if it's not wanted to be heard. He's going to have a great career.”
Henderson insists he never got down on himself during the year, which I’m not sure I buy. The early part of the year was so rough that it would be impossible for anyone not to, especially with the expectations that come with being a top-3 pick and replacing someone like Lillard.
“There were never moments in this season where I was down on myself,” he said. “Especially with the support system I have around me. There's no way…it's impossible that I could doubt myself. The more you start to doubt yourself, the more I start to lose that O.D.D. mindset, being Overly Determined to Dominate. That's my mindset. That's how I have to go about every single day. As long as I have that, there's no way I could doubt myself or even try to [downplay] myself.”
I think a normal summer will be good for Henderson. He got to Portland last summer about a week before Lillard requested a trade, which cast a shadow over the organization for the whole summer. Then, he suffered a shoulder injury in the first half of his first Summer League game, which limited how much he was able to do during the offseason. Any teenage point guard’s rookie season is going to be rough, but those two factors can’t have helped matters. Now that both of them are in the past, he can prepare for year two.
Henderson’s exact summer plans are still up in the air, but he’s going to be in the gym.
“I'm going to get a little bit of rest, maybe a few weeks, just to get my mind and body back healthy,” he said. “But I'm going to be in a few places. I'm gonna play a lot of basketball. Wherever I am, it's gonna be a hoop. Whether you see me in China or Spain, there's gonna be a basketball court there. I'm working.”
Malcolm Brogdon’s uncertain future
When it comes to roster moves, Malcolm Brogdon’s name is the one to watch in the trade market, just like it was leading into February’s trade deadline.
The Blazers opted to keep the 31-year-old point guard around for a few reasons. The trade offers they received were largely centered around first-round picks in the 2024 draft, where they’re likely slated to have two lottery picks already and the talent class is considered underwhelming. They also loved his presence around a young team, particularly as a mentor for Henderson.
This summer, it makes much more sense to move on from Brogdon. He’s going into the final year of his contract, still has value to help a contender and it’s more important than ever for the organization to see how Henderson, Sharpe and Simons play together.
On Monday, Brogdon was asked what he thinks—and wants—his future to hold in Portland or elsewhere.