Portland Trail Blazers' depth chart updated: How does team line up their starting 5 after getting Scoot Henderson & Kris Murray?

Portland Trail Blazers
Portland Trail Blazers' depth chart updated

Following the NBA Draft, the Portland Trail Blazers walked away with multiple young prospects. Despite countless rumors of them shopping the third overall pick, they ended up making the selection themselves.

With Brandon Miller going second to the Charlotte Hornets, the Portland Trail Blazers took Scoot Henderson with their first pick of the first round. Later on, they selected Kris Murray with the 23rd overall selection. Murray is a 6-foot-8 forward that averaged over 20 points per game this season at Iowa.

Looking at their roster now, the Blazers have a massive log jam at the guard position. Next season, they'll have to find minutes on a nightly basis for Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Shaedon Sharpe, and Scoot Henderson.

Head coach Chauncey Billups could deploy some three-guard lineups, but things could get tricky defensively. Outside of Sharpe, all of the guards are 6-foot-4 or shorter.

A situation like this could cause a stall in development for the younger players. Portland cannot expect Sharpe and Henderson to grow their game if they aren't getting consistent minutes on a nightly basis. With so many guards on the roster, one might wonder if trades could happen this summer to consolidate.


What mike the Portland Trail Blazers starting five look like?

There are many things the Portland Trail Blazers could do with their starting lineup. Even with these new additions, there likely won't be much change. Scoot Henderson has star potential, but bumping Anfernee Simons on day one seems unlikely.

The biggest question regarding Portland's starting lineup is Jerami Grant. Right now, he is an unrestricted free agent. If he walks this summer, the Blazers will have a massive hole to fill at power forward.

If the Blazers are able to retain Grant, their starting five should look something like Damian Lillard, Simons, Matisse Thybulle, Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic.

After being acquired at the trade deadline, Thybulle was a big addition for a Blazers team that needed help on defense. Along with bringing his elite-level perimeter defense, he also shined on the other end of the floor.

In his 22 games with Portland after the deadline, Thybulle averaged a career-high 7.4 points per game. He also connected on 38.8% of his threes while shooting almost four a night.

Following the draft, it's clear the Blazers have some big decisions to make, especially when it comes to their abundance of guards who will need minutes every night.

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