Should Houston Rockets Trade Alperen Sengun or Jalen Green This Summer?

The Houston Rockets could trade one of their top prospects to catapult into contention.

Jan 6, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) celebrate with center / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets are on the outside looking in for the Western Conference playoff picture despite making a host of moves to prevent that in free agency last summer.

The Rockets are hungry for relevancy, and they may be able to expedite the process with a big trade this summer. However, any major deal would likely have to include Jalen Green or Alperen Sengun, both of whom are extension-eligible this summer.

Dec 23, 2023; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; Houston Rockets center Alperen Sengun (28) and guard / Stephen Lew-USA TODAY Sports

Bleacher Report believes choosing between one or the other and trading a player could get the team closer to a championship.

"If the Rockets built an offer around Alperen Şengün, a 21-year-old who was in the All-Star discussion this season, or Jalen Green, the 2021 No. 2 pick who was the league's fifth-highest scorer in March, that might be as strong as anyone can put on the table," Bleacher Report writes. "Plus, Houston would still have one of these long-term building blocks and a deep supporting cast surrounding the incoming difference-maker."

However, given the fact that Green and Sengun are taking big leaps just as they turn 22 years old, the potential for both of them to be All-Stars someday is high. And the Rockets would like to continue that development as they move into the prime of their careers, making a trade for either of them extremely unlikely this summer.

The Rockets are back in action tonight as they try to hang on to their faint postseason hopes against the Golden State Warriors. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.