April 26, 2017
When we last left Gerald Henderson, he was coaxing Paul George into an ejection during a game in the final week of the regular season. As a result, the NBA fined both players a cool $25,000.
“It is what it is, it’s a situation that happened,” Henderson told reporters on exit interview day, not exactly going into detail. “It’s not my place to say if it’s fair or not, you just take it and move forward.”
Now, after George and the Pacers were swept out of the playoffs, the only responsible conclusion is that Henderson is still very much in PG-13’s head. Or that LeBron James is a good at basketball. Definitely one of them.
Of Bryan Colangelo’s three veteran free-agent signings, Hendo by default had the biggest 2016-17 impact in his return to the Delaware Valley. Despite battling hip soreness and pain that will stick around his entire career, the Episcopal Academy product managed to play 72 games, switching from a bench and starting role.
Henderson saw a major dip in his three-point shooting the last three months of the season, but the midrange-happy swingman was able to have one of the more efficient seasons of his career with a 35.3 mark from behind the arc. Scoring efficiently has never been his strong suit.
As for his hip, Henderson felt pretty good about his health at the end of the year. But he does have one major concern moving forward that has little to do with hoops.
“I just hope it doesn’t affect my golf game down the road,” he said.
| Points (FG/3P/FT) | Rebounds | Ast-TO | Steals | Blocks |
| 14.3 (42/35/81) | 4.0 | 2.4-1.3 | 0.9 | 0.3 |
| PER | TS% | USG% | WS/48 |
| 10.8 | .529 | 17.9 | .059 |
| On | Off | |
| OFF RTG | 99.7 | 101.3 |
| DEF RTG | 108.1 | 105.1 |
| NET RTG | -8.4 | -3.8 |
We don’t need to get too into detail because Henderson might not be here long (spoiler!), but I liked how Brett Brown routinely would start him in the left corner and give him in a staggered dribble handoff around the arc.
I like that action. I like the idea of the Sixers running it with their draft picks, young players already on the roster (TLC!), and even Henderson more if he sticks around. There are different creative ways that you can free screeners for threes (Embiid pick-and-pops, in particular) and layups out of it.
Henderson only received one mention from Colangelo during his exit interview press conference, but he did say the veteran wing “was terrific and gave us a lot.” That is more praise than the passing mention of “international experience” Sergio Rodriguez received if you’re scoring at home and/or want to read into every little detail.
For his part, Henderson sounds like he wants (and expects?) to be back.
“You got a chance, given a healthy squad, to be pretty special,” he said. “So, I’m looking forward to seeing what we’re able to do.”
There is some conflicting info about Henderson’s contract situation for 2017-18. Most are reporting that his deal is a team option next season while The Vertical’s Bobby Marks says that the Sixers owe him $1 million. It’s not a big deal either way, though. With the cap rising to over $100 million, eating that money wouldn’t deter the Sixers from moving on.
But should they?
Like we talked about with Rodriguez, the Sixers backcourt is about to get pretty crowded, with the potential to roughly turn into McGillin’s on Saturday night. Let’s forget about “the point guard who might not be a point guard” for a minute and create a rough depth chart from 1-3 next season.
| PG | SG | SF |
| Bayless | TLC | Covington |
| McConnell | Stauskas | Anderson |
We don’t know if the Sixers are going to bring back all of those players, but there will likely be one or two additional lottery picks added to that group. And again, this is even before the Sixers decide whether to slot Ben Simmons and Dario Saric in this group from a defensive standpoint.
It’s pretty crowded, with a bunch of what Brown calls "keepers." If the Sixers draft two guards/swingmen in the top-five, it would be hard for Henderson to find minutes.
I like Henderson's game and would lean toward bringing him back as of now. He provides value as a guy who is decent, but not great at a lot of things on a reasonable short-term deal. Plus, Henderson a veteran presence in a young (and getting younger) locker room. The Sixers have to make a decision on the $9 million that he is guaranteed next season by June 30th (per Basketball Insiders), but by that point, the draft will be over.
Making a decision on Henderson’s option is a fine problem to have, and depending on what the Sixers do elsewhere this offseason, both choices could be perfectly defensible.
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