Rockets' Guard Jalen Green: Extend, Trade or Let Go?

Houston is faced with a tough decision entering the final year of Green's contract.

Mar 27, 2024; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) celebrates during a time out against the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports / Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports

The Houston Rockets are faced with a big decision heading into the 2024-25 NBA season. Guard Jalen Green is entering the final year of his four-year, $40.8 million contract, after having his team option picked up the last two seasons.

Green averaged 19.6 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season as the Rockets went 41-41, falling one spot short of the Play-In Tournament. This season, Houston comes in with playoff aspirations, and Green could be an integral part of that.

The issue with Green's game across his three-year career has been consistency. He's been able to produce good numbers the Rockets, but has never shot above 43% from the field and 35% from deep in each of his three seasons.

We've seen incredible play from Green, it's just been in small sample sizes. In March of 2024, Green averaged 27.7 points, 6.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists across 15 games. Houston doesn't need Green to average nearly 30 points per game, but they need him to shoot better, even if it results in a scoring dip.

In the final year of Green's contract, Houston has three options: extend Green before he enters free agency, trade him before the deadline, or let him test the waters next summer.

Obviously it would be unfortunate for the Rockets to lose Green in free agency for nothing, so Houston's two best options are extending him or trading him. That decision will go hand-in-hand with Green's performance this season.

If he improves his efficiency and helps this Rockets offense, then there's a reason to extend or re-sign him to a bigger contract. If he can't improve on these struggles and it negatively affects the team's play, it might be time to see what Houston can get for the 22-year-old.

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