Blazers sign potential franchise player to rookie deal

The Trail Blazers have officially signed Scoot Henderson to his rookie-scale contract, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

With Damian Lillard‘s trade request perhaps signaling the end of an era in Portland, the Blazers have formally locked up the player whom they’ll build around as they enter their next era. The No. 3 overall pick, Henderson is considered to have All-NBA potential and figures to be the team’s lead guard of the future.

Henderson will earn approximately $9.8M in the first season of his four-year rookie-scale contract, which will be worth over $44M in total.

Although there’s a transaction freeze during the NBA’s July moratorium, which runs from July 1-6, there are a few kinds of moves that can still be completed during the moratorium period. Rookie contract signings are one of them, so many of this year’s first-rounders will likely ink their first NBA deals in the coming days.