Is Gerald Henderson the Philadelphia 76ers’ Top Scorer?

With an influx of talent both via the draft and free agency, the Philadelphia 76ers could have a new top scorer from an unlikely place: Gerald Henderson.

The Philadelphia 76ers have finally begun their emergence from ‘The Process,’ as Bryan Colangelo has gradually put to rest the Hinkie-instilled moniker with a series of veteran signings that finally have the team looking to make some sort of tangible strides in the 2016-17 season.

With that newfound spurt of veteran talent in the rotation, along with a number of new rookie talents entering the fold, there is certainly going to be quite a bit of change next year in terms of how roles are distributed around the team and which players are asked to produce the most. Ben Simmons is going to have the ball in his hands on a consistent basis, and is the unquestioned focal point of not only the offense, but the team in general moving forward.

Outside of Simmons, however, little is decided at this stage in the offseason. Brett Brown will have a sizable bit of experimenting to do next season to find which rotations operate most effectively, and he’ll have an interesting balancing act in figuring out just how many minutes to allocate to their veteran members over their younger core pieces and vice versa.

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That’s where Gerald Henderson comes into play. His is by far the most talented guard on the rotation as it stands, and has likely secured the starting two-guard position to kick off the season.

While the Sixers were able to make a number of depth-increasing moves over their offseason, their shooting guard depth is still relatively thin. Nik Stauskas and Hollis Thompson are underwhelming talents for a rotation seeking to make legitimate strides forward, while Jerryd Bayless is likely to split more time between the point guard spot as a scoring spark in reserve.

That, in theory, makes Henderson one of the few players currently on the roster that has some form of certainty surrounding his situation. He’s going to get ample playing time as a veteran leader of the team both in the locker room and on the court, and will have a chance to prove himself as one of their most polished offensive weapons on the outside.

While it may seem like an odd situation to think of at first, that could make Henderson a feasible possibility as the Sixers’ leading scorer.

It’s fairly clear at this point that Ben Simmons is not ready to be a go-to scoring threat in any capacity next season. His improved aggressiveness as Summer League progressed was a positive, but expecting that to translate fully to the next level of competition in actual NBA games from day one is ill-advised.

Simmons is unselfish to a fault at times, and has the masterful court vision needed to set up teammates for opportunities they wouldn’t normally have. He’s a mismatch in almost any position, and can get to whichever spots he wants on the court with the intention of distributing the ball to another prominent scoring threat.

While Jahlil Okafor did show off his scoring chops at times last season, he’ll be wedged alongside two other centers, at least to start the season, with Nerlens Noel and Joel Embiid likely to claim big minutes. Dario Saric will also be jammed behind Simmons and Robert Covington in the rotation, and won’t be able to gain the traction early on to be a top scorer in any capacity early on.

Henderson, on the other hand, will have possibly the most consistent role on the team outside of Simmons, and should get plenty of looks on the outside as their most persistent perimeter threat on the offensive side of the ball.

Henderson, despite some wavering disparities in minutes per game over the course of his career thus far, has always been a strong contributor when in the game. Even when stuck behind both C.J. McCollum and Allen Crabbe in the rotation last season, Henderson still averaged upwards of 14 points per 36 minutes, and was a reliable third option on the wing despite his lackluster positioning in the Trail Blazers’ rotation.

Judging exactly how many minutes per game we’ll see Henderson play is still difficult, as it largely depends on how Brown weighs the importance of development against the importance of winning, and how drastically Henderson affects either side of the spectrum. If he’s on the court for that 30 minute mark, however, as is the type of mainstream, go-to option that’s he’s capable of being, we could definitely see him topping the team-wide charts in the scoring department.

Mostly as a secondary or tertiary option, Henderson averaged 15.5 points per contest is his best season to date (2012-13 with the Hornets), in a total of 31 minutes per game. He was accompanied by a ball-dominant creator in Kemba Walker, and was still competing for backcourt time with Ramon Sessions and Ben Gordon.

With the Sixers this year, he’ll be playing alongside a much more willing passer in Ben Simmons, as well as Sergio Rodriguez at the point, and will be competing for minutes in a very similar manner with Bayless, McConnell, and a handful of younger guards in the rotation. If he’s able to shoulder an even higher scoring demand and is given circa 30 minutes on a nightly basis, there’s no reason why Henderson couldn’t put up solid scoring numbers in the higher teens.

While he doesn’t mesh with the youthful theme that still dominates the conversation when analyzing the Sixers and may not be seen as a critical piece to the proverbial puzzle from an organizational standpoint, there’s reason to believe Henderson will have a sizable role with the team next season.

Bryan Colangelo has stressed his desire to get veterans into the mix to help move the younger pieces along, while his clear desire to bring in more sound pieces all summer, even if some possible moves didn’t pan out, likely means that the president of basketball operations is looking for his newfound talent to lead an internal revolution of sorts.

Philadelphia is beginning to finally move out of their seemingly eternal rebuilding stage, and Colangelo’s veteran pickups are going to play a strong role in leading their improvements. This is still a team being built around young talent, but they’re still sorting out their core pieces for the time being and are likely to rely on a player like Henderson to keep them above the fray as they organize the remainder on the rotation.

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Is Henderson leading the team in scoring a certainty? No, not by any stretch, but it’s a definite possibility. He’s an aggressive perimeter scorer who far surpasses the assets Brett Brown has had during his tenure with the team as of late, and has a looming sense of security in his placement on the team that not many other players currently have.

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Henderson, all things considered, is one of the best players on this team and holds a level of experience in both career longevity and carrying a heavy scoring load that nobody else can really match on the roster. He’s the stopgap piece they’ve been missing in a number of ways, and could be looking to make a splash in what is a personal homecoming this upcoming season.