If someone told the Houston Rockets that they could be gauging Jalen Green trade value midway through his third season, they would’ve probably cried. But the reality is that the former second-overall pick has been far from impressive since he made it to the league.
Granted, Stephen Silas was one of the worst coaches in the game, and it’s hard to shake off losing habits. The Rockets played careless, iso-heavy basketball with little regard for winning games, and that didn’t help with Green’s already questionable shot selection.
Of course, we’ve seen some glimpses of greatness from time to time, and the talent is most definitely there. But the Rockets hired Ime Udoka to try to get better now, and they’re not that far behind in the Western Conference standings.
That’s why they should be looking at the potential Jalen Green trade value. They should be quite aggressive in the next couple of weeks, and most of the possible deals before the trade deadline should be centered around the G-League product.
Rockets need more depth
The Rockets trade deadline latest news hasn’t been very interesting to follow, but this team should be working overtime to get better now. They thought Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green would become stars, but it turns out that Alperen Sengun is now their best player, and it’s not even close.
Those things happen, and now the front office has to pivot and build around the young Turkish big man, who has shown untapped potential as something similar to a poor man’s Nikola Jokic. And with a winning coach like Ime Udoka, it’s still too early to count them out or give up on this season.
The Rockets made an excellent selection when they picked Amen Thompson. He needs to be on the floor as often as possible, and he’s proven to have the potential to be a Defensive Player of the Year, hiding Fred VanVleet‘s defensive flaws.
Thompson’s offensive game is obviously anywhere close to Green’s, but Green has been an empty-calorie player for the most part, posting big numbers in losing efforts and chucking shots despite a lack of efficiency. Thompson, on the other hand, isn’t a high-usage guy and doesn’t need to have the ball in his hands to make an offensive impact.
VanVleet can put up points in the blink of an eye, and Sengun is only going to become a better scorer over time. Having Thompson and Smith taking care of the defense, and rounding up with either Dillon Brooks or — even better — Tari Eason would help the Rockets have one of the best defensive lineups in the league.
Green is still quite young and he’s three years removed from being the second-overall pick, so he could still have plenty of value around the league, especially for rebuilding sides. This Rockets squad needs veterans, length, and a backup point guard, and moving on from Green could grant them that.
Perhaps they could use him to get Dejounte Murray, even if that means trading draft picks as well. Murray could also help revamp their defense while being a proven and much more efficient scorer than Green, and perhaps they could also get Bogdan Bogdanovic in return.
Green has the potential to be one of the best scorers in the game, but, just like what happens with guys like Jordan Poole, that’s not always necessarily a good thing. It’s not his fault that things have gone south in Houston, but his lack of development and improvement and poor shot selection haven’t done much to help either, so they should make the most of his trade value while he still has any.
