Jalen Green could be the odd man out in Houston with the scoring guard taking heat for the Rockets’ first-round exit from the playoffs.
The 23-year-old was mostly invisible in the seven-game loss to the Warriors — aside from a 38-point outburst in Game 2.
And the Rockets have an abundance of young, skilled players but lack a veteran scoring threat that could solve the offensive issues that plagued them all season and against Golden State.
“Jalen Green, I think it’s safe to say, he needs to get ready to pack his bags,” ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith said on Monday morning after the Warriors’ 103-89 Game 7 triumph the night before. “If you are the Houston Rockets, you have to be looking to move him.”
Green was limited to 55 points in the other six games of the series and was held to eight points on Sunday as the Rockets spent most of the night bogged down on the offensive end.
“You’ve to to be kidding me. That can’t happen. Houston’s offense was awful, but primarily because he couldn’t do anything…,” Smith said of Green. “If you are the Houston Rockets, you have to go out and pursue Kevin Durant.”
The emergence of Amen Thompson has made Green feel more expendable, despite signing a three-year, $106 million extension at the start of the season.
“I think the damning part of this series is the Jalen Green conversation,” The Ringer’s Ryen Russillo said. “When he he had 38, it was like, ‘You see, you see. Everything is fine.’ That was the aberration… That’s just not like, hey he is young and all this stuff, but Amen clearly needs to be the priority for whatever they do with [Fred] VanVleet and what they do with [Dillon] Brooks.
“So, if Green is taking away shot opportunities from Amen next season that’s getting in the way of his development. Because, again, Amen isn’t even fully formed and just some of his reads, his aggression, his confidence. And Jalen is just kind of this wild card guy who drives and the decisions aren’t great.”
And Phoenix would be a likely landing spot as a Durant trade seems inevitable with the Suns’ Big 3 — Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal — being one of the league’s biggest disappointments.
Green could inject some life into an older team and add an explosive scoring option alongside Booker.
Green’s future will be one of the more intriguing NBA storylines to follow this offseason.