When the Houston Rockets traded away franchise icon James Harden in 2020, all hope for the future felt lost. The very next offseason, though, the team selected a high-flying young guard with the second-overall pick — suddenly, hope was back on the menu in H-Town thanks to Jalen Green.
Now in his fourth season, the 23-year-old remains the starting shooting guard for a Rockets team which has emerged from the dregs of their rebuild to the tune of a 52-30 record and the franchise’s first NBA Playoffs appearance since the 2019-2020 season. Green’s high points have helped put Houston basketball back on the map, but his low points are often difficult to watch.
With his inconsistent play exposed during the first-round series against the Golden State Warriors, should the Rockets trade Jalen Green away if they want to elevate into a real title contender?
Jalen Green trade rumors
Peaks and valleys
Coming out of the draft, Green’s top-tier athleticism and step-back jumper made him a tantalizing prospect. Houston’s front office surely saw visions of an alpha-scorer two-guard in the mold of Zach Lavine, Bradley Beal, and Devin Booker — all at the peak of their powers around that time. Green became the second pick of the 2021 NBA Draft and joined the Rockets’ rebuild with expectations of becoming the successor to Harden.
Over the last four years, Green truly has flashed the top-15 upside his team drafted him with the intention of capturing. Across two seasons of structure in head coach Ime Udoka’s system, Green averages 20.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per contest. His athleticism allows him to get downhill at will, his step-back game creates a canyon’s worth of space, and when the young guard heats up, he approaches surface-of-the-sun temperatures. Green boasts 158 games with 20-plus points over his four seasons and has scored 30 or more points across 51 of those appearances.
That’s the thing, though. Green flashes upside, but he doesn’t consistently deliver it, at least not yet. He’s one of the NBA’s streakiest shooters with a career-high true shooting percentage of 54.7%, which came in his rookie campaign. His decision-making has improved under Udoka’s watch, but the guard still struggles to protect the basketball with 2.5 turnovers to his 3.4 assists. While he has the tools to provide a plus-presence on defense, attacking him on the perimeter remains a staple in opponents’ offensive game plans.
Should the Rockets trade Jalen Green?
Yes, players of his archetype take longer to develop than most other positions. Sure, the standards he’s held to might be higher since he was selected directly after Cade Cunningham and immediately before Evan Mobley, two franchise-altering talents who earned their first All-Star nods this season. Still, year five looms on the horizon for Green.
Starting him on any given night feels like a dice roll to determine which version shows up. If Green shows those star flashes, he’ll win a game nearly on his own. If not? Well, good luck. With the Rockets playing their first playoff series with this young core, Green’s inconsistencies stand out even more. He’s not the alpha scorer the team needs to succeed in a best-of-seven series, and while he could eventually become that player, the breakout may come in a different jersey.
Trade destinations and landing spots
Milwaukee Bucks
After their third straight unceremonious exit in the first round of the playoffs, the Milwaukee Bucks appear on the verge of jumpstarting a rebuild. Damian Lillard tore an Achilles and turns 35 later this year, which makes recovery to full strength a daunting task. The team doesn’t own any of their own first-round picks until 2031, and Giannis Antetokounmpo may not feel satisfied with the franchise’s long-term outlook.
A split with Antetokounmpo might loom as the best option for both the two-time MVP’s career and the Bucks’ future. Since they lack much, if any young talent, Green works as a major salary to make a trade work alongside a haul of picks while providing a high-upside infusion of youth in a post-Giannis world.
Phoenix Suns
On a similar note, the Phoenix Suns drastically underachieved this season. Despite their star power with Kevin Durant and Devin Booker, the franchise lacks many assets to make improvements around their core stars, and Bradley Beal’s massive contract remains borderline unmoveable.
The Rockets supposedly explored a trade for Durant at the deadline this past season, but their interest in Booker is no secret. Either player could step in as the alpha scorer Houston needs to succeed in the playoffs, but the latter fits the team’s timeline alongside their young core a bit better. Green’s salary is integral to the trade math for either star, so watch for a possible move to the desert this summer.
Atlanta Hawks
Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks flamed out of the Play-In Tournament and haven’t made much postseason noise since their 2021 Eastern Conference Finals run. They keep running it back, but the team seems like it’s largely capped out, at least in its current iteration.
While Young is the least of the team’s problems, he’s their highest-value asset and would fetch quite a haul in a potential trade. If Atlanta were to seek the opportunity to rebuild their asset pool with picks and young talent, a Green-for-Trae swap might seem like an intriguing option for a Rockets squad which needs a reliable scorer and playmaker at its starting guard spots.
