Despite the Houston Rockets having by far their best season record-wise ever since he arrived, Jalen Green appears to be unhappy.
Kelly Iko of The Athletic wrote in a mailbag piece on Thursday that the Rockets guard Green has had “clear” frustrations this season. Iko also shared his own observation that Green “didn’t look happy” after being benched for the entire fourth quarter during a recent victory over the Phoenix Suns. It was just one of multiple times that Green has gotten benched in crucial moments this season.
The 22-year-old Green was Houston’s No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and had full autonomy to commandeer the offense in his first two seasons. But the Rockets went an abhorrent 42-122 (.256) over that span and made several massive changes last offseason. Those included installing Ime Udoka as their new head coach, signing Fred VanVleet as their new lead guard, and running more of their offense through the talented young center Alperen Sengun.
Houston is now a somewhat more respectable 25-33 this season, but Green’s numbers are definitely suffering. After averaging 22.1 points per game last season, he is now down to 17.6 points per game this season on a career-worst 40.6 percent shooting from the field.
There was even some talk before the trade deadline earlier this month that the Rockets were stunningly considering moving Green. Though there may still be a pathway for him to succeed in Houston (possibly by moving into a sixth-man role), Green clearly is not happy with the status quo of things right now.
