4 Reasons drafting Scoot Henderson should be a no-brainer for Hornets

He doesn’t have to start right away

No matter how talented a player is, no team wants to overwhelm a rookie who is getting acclimated to the NBA with too much responsibility too soon. In the case of the Charlotte Hornets, drafting Scoot Henderson would mean having a player who is capable of playing big minutes but doesn’t have to bear the burden of being the primary ballhandler right away.

In addition to LaMelo Ball, the team’s roster also features 29-year-old veteran point guard Terry Rozier. Last season, while appearing in 63 games, Rozier put up very respectable averages of 21.1 points and 5.1 assists per game. With a battle-tested guard like Rozier as a stabilizing force, the Hornets will not be forced to throw Henderson into the fire right away. Instead, they can bring him off the bench and give him time to develop.

This is similar to the strategy that the Orlando Magic used in developing Penny Hardaway during his rookie season. Although Hardaway was rightfully viewed as the league’s next star point guard, the Magic’s coaching staff thought it was wiser to continue playing veteran Scott Skiles at the point guard to start the season. It wasn’t until Hardaway’s second year in the league that the reigns were turned over to him and he became the team’s full-time floor general.

In addition to the fact that playing with the second unit may be beneficial for a 19-year-old rookie, Henderson’s coming off the bench could help the team overall. Every good team has a sparkplug off the bench, someone the team can go to for buckets when the primary scorers are catching a breather. If Head Coach Steve Clifford finds the right mix of players, Henderson could become the team’s sixth man and the leader of the all-important “bench mob” that often determines the outcome of the game.