Should Blazers’ Anfernee Simons Try to ‘Stave Off’ Scoot Henderson?

As thePortland Trail Blazersswap out Damian Lillard for Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons’ role is bound to change a little bit.

Simons was a complementary guard for Lillard and eventually could be one for Henderson, but as a 19-year-old rookie, Scoot isn’t expected to take over immediately.

While Henderson has a higher ceiling than Simons, that doesn’t mean Ant won’t play a key role on the Blazers this year, but will he get in the rookie’s way?

Bleacher Report’s Adam Fromal says that there could be pressure from Simons to delay the inevitable and make Henderson the best guard on the team.

The 24-year-old guard burst onto the scene in a featured role last year, averaging 21.1 points and 4.1 dimes without sacrificing too much efficiency, and now he’ll be tasked with carrying Rip City back into the postseason picture and staving off Henderson in the race to betheguy for the Blazers.

While the Blazers want to be as competitive as possible, could Simons get in the way of the team truly rebuilding around Henderson? Lillard’s departure gives Simons, who is also a young guard, the chance to take the next step in his career and he shouldn’t be expected to immediately accept a role as Henderson’s understudy.

Throughout the season, the Blazers will have to find that right balance of putting the ball in Simons’ hands because of his experience or giving Henderson those opportunities to ultimately blossom into a franchise point guard.