The Portland Trail Blazers selected Scoot Henderson with the third overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. The youngster plays the same position as superstar Damian Lillard, who wanted Portland to trade the third pick for a star player.
According to NBA insider Howard Beck of GQ, the Los Angeles Clippers discussed a trade with the Blazers involving Paul George for Scoot Henderson.
“The Blazers either didn’t find a trade that appealed to them, or didn’t try very hard—it’s not entirely clear,” Beck wrote. “(They did briefly discuss a swap of Henderson for Paul George, according to a rival executive. ‘If they really were set on giving up Scoot, they could have gotten a really good return,’ said the Western Conference exec. ‘I just don’t think they were committed enough to do it.’) What is clear is that the Blazers are no better positioned to make a deep playoff run now than they were two months ago.”
George is one of the best players in the NBA. However, he has only played in 87 out of a possible 164 games in the past two seasons. It appears the Blazers didn’t want to trade Henderson for a player who is very prone to getting hurt.
An eight-time All-Star, George averaged 23.8 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.1 assists for the Clippers this past season while shooting 45.7% from the field, 37.1% from beyond the arc and 87.1% from the free-throw line. He’s an elite two-way player.
However, George missed the final nine games of the regular season with a knee injury and didn’t play in the first round of the 2023 playoffs against the Phoenix Suns. Without George, the Clippers lost to the Suns in five games.
George signed a four-year, $176 million maximum contract extension with the Clippers in December 2020. The six-time All-NBA forward will make $45.6 million next season. He has a player option worth $48.8 million for the 2024-25 season.
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