Damian Lillard has been an on-ball offensive juggernaut. To his credit, he did change his playstyle a little bit to fit Anfernee Simon’s game, becoming far more of an off-ball player during that period. And it appears that he may have to adjust once again, this time for Scoot Henderson. As he recently revealed, Skip Bayless absolutely adores this. However, it’s not because the 70-year-old analyst wants to see the Blazers’ superstar take more shots from outside to accommodate the rookie. Instead, as he recently revealed on Twitter, Bayless believes Henderson is going to be disciplining the poster child of loyalty.
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Skip Bayless isn’t the only analyst that delivered a strong opinion after Henderson was drafted. ESPN’s Stephen A Smith was no less, saying that Lillard’s time in Portland will now come to an end, as the franchise will look to build around Scoot instead.
“The end of Damian Lillard in Portland is coming”
“It’s not an accident Miami wasn’t ultra aggressive in the Bradley Beal talks. They’re anticipating they’re going to have a legitimate shot at Damian Lillard. And if the Blazers draft Scoot Henderson, that would be a big reason why.” – @stephenasmith pic.twitter.com/k8WPZjILIV
— dru_star (@dru_star) June 22, 2023
Ominous, to say the absolute least. However, those words aren’t nearly as humiliating to Lillard when compared to what Skip Bayless had to say about the whole thing.
Skip Bayless believes Scoot’s arrival will cause massive changes in Lillard’s role
Skip Bayless has never been one to mince words. However, even by his own astronomical standards, his words on the Scoot Henderson-Portland Trailblazers situation are something else. For starters, as mentioned before, there was his tweet about Henderson keeping Lillard in checking, by refusing to bite his own tongue.
“Scoot (Henderson) will not bite his tongue when he keeps hearing Dame (Damian Lillard) doesn’t have enough help.”
Scoot will not be able to bite his tongue when he keeps hearing Dame doesn’t have enough help.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 23, 2023
He’d even go on to say that Scoot Henderson will now be Portland’s ‘closer’, despite Damian Lillard having proven himself to be arguably the most clutch player in the NBA right now.
Scoot will want to be Portland’s closer. Time for Dame to take a backseat.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) June 23, 2023
Admittedly, analysts have been shockingly arrogant on this topic. After all, Henderson has clearly shown that he is willing to learn from other NBA players to become a better shooter and overall basketball player.
He famously worked out with Stephen Curry to become a better shooter, ahead of the NBA draft. And as an NBA Insider revealed, things seemed to be of a similar nature between him and Damian Lillard too.
Damian Lillard and Scoot Henderson have reportedly been in constant contact with each other
There has been far too much speculation on Scoot Henderson and Damian Lillard potentially coming to blows with each other, especially considering the lack of proof. In fact, any evidence obtained from this situation simply points in the other direction.
Hearing Lillard and Scoot Henderson have been communicating regularly since the G League Ignite star’s workout in Portland, sources said. Dame attended draft workouts and has been working out regularly at the Blazers’ facility. Henderson is a candidate for the third pick. https://t.co/kgR0C7cYSG
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) June 21, 2023
Simply put, not only are the two not against each other, but they also seem to have an actively friendly relationship already. Very different from the grand and dramatic yarn analysts like Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith have been spinning.