An increasingly common term used in the discourse around roster construction is that of “direction”, and while perhaps overused, it speaks to an important principle. Much as a large degree of NBA roster management is about opportunism, fortune, …
An increasingly common term used in the discourse around roster construction is that of “direction”, and while perhaps overused, it speaks to an important principle. Much as a large degree of NBA roster management is about opportunism, fortune, circumstances and scouting successes, teams are ultimately implicitly required to know who they are and where they are going, behind the obvious answer of “hopefully we will win a title like this”. Knowing the speed of travel, and when the time is to change it, is key.
To that end, the Houston Rockets have unashamedly picked a direction. Since the demise of the James Harden era, they have been last, last and second-last in the Western Conference, winning only 17, 20 and 22 games in the previous three seasons. It was not pretty, but at least it was a direction, and it yielded the No. 2, No. 3 and No. 4 picks across the last three drafts accordingly.
Since the last of those, though, they have distinctly changed direction. Summer-time expenditure on win-now veterans such as Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks spoke to an intent to move out of the bottom bracket, and last week’s trade of three second-round picks for the 30-year-old Steven Adams doubles down on that position. Their 23 wins so far this season, while far from competitive, have seen them move into the middle ground from the doldrums; the Rockets clearly feel as though there is better value to be had from moving forward with a more competitive environment surrounding their young core, rather than bottoming out further to add to it.
One of those young players, though, appears not to have made the grade. With just two days until the NBA trade deadline, third-year guard Jalen Green’s name has circulated in the trade rumors for some time, and, given the adage that there is no smoke without fire, his time with the team looks as though it might soon be coming to an end, less than three years after being the purpose of the first direction.
Green has averaged 18.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 49 games so far this season, and while this represents a slight decline from his 22.1 scoring average a season ago, there is nothing wrong on the surface. The decline in volume with the addition of VanVleet has not however seen any increase in his efficiency, particularly in the paint, and the defensive progress has been slow. So too has the limited passing vision.
Looking more like Collin Sexton than Donovan Mitchell, Green’s place at the top of the Rockets’ core list has been lost to Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr and arguably also Tari Eason, with Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore still to come. If the Rockets are true to their reported intention of getting older to try and make the 2024 playoffs, his spot is the vulnerable one.
Nevertheless, a third-year player who only turns 22 this week and who already has a season above the 20-point-per-game threshold under his belt will always have some value in the market. Here are four possible trade destinations for Green if Houston can get a deal over the line in the next 48 hours.
