new york after weeks of speculation over a potential predraft trade the portland trail blazers stood pat and selected g league ignite guard scoot henderson with the third pick in the nba draft thursday night leading up to the draft henderson and alabama forward brandon miller went back and forth as the no 2 prospects behind generational french big man victor wembanyama who was taken no 1 overall by the san antonio spurs ultimately the charlotte hornets went with miller with the second pick leaving the blazers to take henderson who will now join a burgeoning young core that includes last years seventh overall pick shaedon sharpe and 24yearold guard anfernee simons henderson said he didnt have a problem being selected third and not second not at all he said im glad to see brandon go there im pretty sure its a great fit for him thats how i move i move with love im not mad that i didnt go 2 or i didnt go 1 im blessed to go 3 and to be here with my family with me rounding out the top five of thursdays draft were amen thompson who went no 4 to the houston rockets and ausar thompson who went fifth to the detroit pistons the identical twin brothers who played together as part of the overtime elite program are the first siblings to go in the top 10 of the same draft henderson expressed excitement over the prospect of playing with superstar guard damian lillard whose name has been bandied about in trade discussions over the past few weeks lillard who turns 33 on july 15 might see that talk increase in the wake of portland hanging on to the third pick and adding another young player rather than trading it to add a veteran in an attempt to improve right away lillard a seventime allstar who arrived in portland as the no 6 overall pick in 2012 is coming off arguably his best season averaging a careerhigh 329 points 73 assists and 48 rebounds but the blazers still missed the playoffs for the second straight season after making it to the postseason in each of the prior eight campaigns im hoping to get to play with dame for sure henderson said special talent special guard one of my favorites to watch especially filmwise just to pick out how he moves off the court as well yeah it would be cool to play with him at 6foot2 195 pounds henderson 19 is the prototypical point guard prospect he spent the past two seasons playing for the g league ignite the nbas developmental team in the g league averaging 165 points 54 rebounds and 65 assists across 19 regularseason games this past season he also has averaged 165 points 47 rebounds and 45 assists in 17 games over the past two seasons in showcase cup games the g leagues inseason tournament henderson said his experience in the g league gave him a leg up