Gordon: Strawther pick highlights banner night for Vegas
Among the things that shined brightly Thursday during the NBA draft at Barclays Center in New York: Scoot Henderson’s bejeweled black jacket. The diamond ring on his right pinkie. The diamond chains draped around his neck.
The future of the Portland Trail Blazers.
Basketball in the Las Vegas Valley.
The Blazers used the No. 3 pick to select Henderson, a precocious leader and franchise point guard — and the first of six NBA draftees with connections to the valley. Henderson played the past two years for G League Ignite, who relocated last season to Henderson and developed No. 33 pick Leonard Miller (Minnesota Timberwolves), No. 44 pick Sidy Cissoko (San Antonio Spurs) and No. 47 pick Mojave King (Indiana Pacers).
Liberty graduate Julian Strawther was selected with the penultimate pick in the first round and will play for the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets.
Las Vegas native Maxwell Lewis was selected at No. 40 and will play for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Portland’s predicament
The intrigue would first begin with Henderson, long considered this draft class’ second-best prospect behind 7-foot-4-inch French phenom Victor Wembanyama — until he was usurped at the 11th hour by Alabama scoring wing Brandon Miller, whom the Charlotte Hornets selected No. 2.
That paved the way for Portland to pounce with the third pick and pair Henderson with 20-year-old two-guard and 2022 No. 7 pick Shaedon Sharpe to form one of the most talented young backcourts in basketball.
“I didn’t really pay too much attention to that,” Henderson told reporters of his draft positioning. “I paid the attention that matters. That was the work that went being here to this day. If they do decide to trade it or do whatever with the pick, I’m just going to continue to work,” an allusion to Portland’s suddenly (but luxuriously) precarious situation.
Perennial All-Star and beloved franchise point guard Damian Lillard has publicly rebuffed a rebuild, implicitly hoping the Trail Blazers can reshape their roster by trading away their youth for impactful veteran standouts.
But the prudent play in the stacked Western Conference for Portland is to trade Lillard to a contender for maximum value and cede the future of the franchise to Henderson and Sharpe by committing to maximizing their development.
“I’m hoping I get to play with Dame, for sure,” said Henderson, 19 and ever the professional. “Special talent. Special guard. One of my favorites to watch. … It would be cool to play with him.”
New journeys begin
As cool — or cooler — is that Strawther is heading to the Mile High City, where he’ll play alongside Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray and the rest of the newly minted champion Nuggets. His three years of schooling at Gonzaga prepared him to play the brand of basketball favored by Denver, among the franchises that best develop their players.
His shooting (40.8 percent from 3-point range in 2022-23 on 5.3 attempts per game) and cutting play perfectly off Jokic, a genius passer and the league’s best player, who augments the strengths of those he plays with.
“Oh, I was crying. I ain’t going to lie,” Strawther said in a video he posted to Instagram from his private party at Red Rock Resort — a Nuggets championship cap resting atop his head.
A bruising big man with perimeter potential, Leonard Miller joins a loaded frontcourt in Minnesota, while Lewis, a scoring wing, gets to learn from LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Cissoko, an energetic two-way wing, and King, a shooter, will have the chance to develop as their franchises rebuild.
Added Strawther on Instagram: “This is weird … I don’t even got words.”
I do.
Congratulations, draftees.
See you next month at Summer League.
Contact Sam Gordon at sgordon@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BySamGordon on Twitter.
