Fred VanVleet Hypes Jalen Green's Upside, Draws Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker Comps
Even though Jalen Green's shot remains a work-in progress for the Houston Rockets, Fred VanVleet is extremely confident in the 23-year-old's potential to play at an All-Star level.
Speaking to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, VanVleet hyped up Green by comparing his upside to that of Anthony Edwards and Devin Booker:
"I don't know if you can go get another 2 guard with the upside or the talent level. [Anthony Edwards] maybe in Minnesota. I don't know, does Book have more talent than Jalen or is he more skilled and more polished and more experienced and older? ... I don't know what Jalen will look like when he's 26, 27, 28 after playoff series. And that's the upside, where it's like potential can get a little intoxicating. He has the talent. There's no reason for him not to reach that level. He's got to go through it; he's got to fail."
Green's first postseason experience has been a microcosm of the good and bad in his game. His best performance against the Golden State Warriors was a 38-point outing in Houston's 109-94 victory in Game 2.
In the three games around that one, though, Green has scored a combined total of 24 points on 10-of-34 shooting (2-of-14 from three-point range).
There were positive signs of progress with Green's shooting touch this season. He made a career-high 35.4 percent of his attempts behind the arc, while leading the Rockets in scoring average with 21.0 points per game.
Green's efficiency still leaves a lot to be desired. He ranked 164th out of 185 qualified guards with a 54.4 true shooting percentage.
Booker is an interesting player to compare with Green because his career got off to a slow start. The Phoenix Suns star shot just 43.7 percent from the field and 35.4 percent behind the arc during his first four seasons.
Since the 2019-20 season, Booker has been one of the best shooting guards in the NBA. He has averaged 26.5 points on 48.0 percent shooting (35.4 percent from three) with four All-Star selections over the past six seasons.
Green will be entering his age-23 season in 2025-26 having shot 42.2 percent overall and 34.2 percent behind the arc in his first four seasons.
Expecting a Booker-level leap from Green is unfair, but the Rockets bet on his ceiling four years ago when they made him the No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA draft.
It's also interesting that VanVleet mentioned Booker since he has been linked to the Rockets as a potential trade target if they flame out in the playoffs and Phoenix decides to start looking toward the long-term future.
Suns governor Mat Ishbia has said in no uncertain terms he won't trade Booker, so it could be a moot point for Houston.
If a Booker trade were to materialize, Green would almost certainly have to be involved both for financial purposes and to give the Suns an established young player with the upside to be a star.
Of course, if the Rockets truly believe Green can reach his full potential, they might not be ready to give up on him this summer. It's not uncommon for a young player in his first postseason to struggle, then come back the following year even better.
While there will be plenty of time for the Rockets to think about the future, their immediate outlook is focused on extending their season. They trail the Warriors 3-1 and will host Game 5 on Wednesday needing a win to stay alive.
Rockets' Amen Thompson Reportedly 'Untouchable' in NBA Trade Talks amid Rumors
The Houston Rockets are reportedly expected to explore a trade for a superstar-caliber player during the upcoming offseason, but it sounds like one of their key players is off the table in any potential negotiations.
ESPN's Tim MacMahon reported that even though "a blockbuster trade would require the Rockets to give up some of that young talent," the team "has made it known to other front offices" that second-year wing Amen Thompson is "considered untouchable."
The No. 4 pick in the 2023 NBA draft, Thompson has already established himself as a dominant force on the defensive end. His offensive skills have shown signs of progress as well, as he surpassed the 20-point mark 14 times this year and finished the regular season with averages of 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks across 69 games with 42 starts.
After finishing second in the Western Conference with a 52-30 record, the Rockets are on the brink of elimination from the playoffs after falling into a 3-1 hole in their first-round series against the Golden State Warriors. A disappointing playoff exit could be the impetus for Houston to pursue a blockbuster deal for a big-name player this summer.
Stars like Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant, Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo and New Orleans Pelicans forward Zion Williamson have been the subject of trade rumors heading into the offseason, so the Rockets could try to enter the market for one of them.
However, it appears that the one player that Houston will be unwilling to give up in exchange for any of those players is Thompson.
Rockets Gov. Tilman Fertitta Trolls 'Dumbass' Luka Doncic Trade Between Mavs, Lakers
It's rare that a governor or executive of a team will go on the record to say anything negative about a move made by an opposing club, but the Luka Dončić trade continues to bring out a lot of opinions in people.
In this case, it was Houston Rockets governor Tilman Fertitta trolling the Dallas Mavericks for the "dumbass" decision to deal their superstar point guard to the Los Angeles Lakers during a recent visit to the White House.
The comment came when Fertitta was speaking to the Houston Cougars men's basketball team at their championship celebration.
Fertitta's comment might not be the harshest way anyone has described the trade from the Mavs' perspective. Some of the other terms that have been used include "malpractice" or "probably the worst decision in modern basketball history."
There are plenty of other comments that have been shared over the past two months, especially from Mavs fans, but those aren't appropriate to share.
You rarely hear team owners in any sport speak out against their peers publicly mostly because they don't want to be subjected to the same type of derision if they are involved in a similar situation.
The Dončić trade is such an anomaly though because teams almost never willingly give up on superstar talents, especially one who is only 26 years old. There have been plenty of superstars who get traded, but it usually happens because they requested out of a situation they deemed to be undesirable.
Given Dončić's response to the reaction from the Dallas crowd and his tribute video in his first game against the Mavericks at American Airlines Center on April 9, it seems patently obvious he had no desire to leave.
There was nothing the Mavs could do or say that would ease the sting of trading Dončić.
Fertitta's comments seem like a very common sentiment many people in the NBA expressed when the trade went down.
On the bright side for Fertitta, the trade did help his team. The Rockets finished with the second-best record in the Western Conference and won their first division title since 2019-20.
The Mavericks won the Southwest Division last season with a 50-32 record en route to reaching the NBA Finals as the No. 5 seed in the West.
Kevin Durant, Rockets Reportedly Have 'Level of Mutual Interest’ amid NBA Trade Rumors
There's reportedly a "level of mutual interest" between Phoenix Suns forward Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets, per ESPN's Shams Charania.
Durant could very well be moved this offseason, with Charania previously reporting that the Suns are "expected to engage in trade conversations" involving the 15-time All-Star. That news dropped after the Suns, who just went 36-46 and missed the playoffs, fired head coach Mike Budenholzer after one season.
"This marks the first action in a summer of change coming to the Suns. Phoenix is expected to engage in trade conversations involving Durant and will have discussions on the future of [Bradley Beal], according to sources," Charania wrote.
"Multiple teams will seriously pursue Durant, who finished another stellar season, and the franchise is expected to work with Durant and his business partner and Boardroom CEO Rich Kleiman on the next landing spot for the future Hall of Famer."
Simply put, the Suns need to start over. They had championship aspirations as evidenced by trading for Kevin Durant in February 2023 before adding Bradley Beal during the 2023 offseason via a deal with the Washington Wizards.
But the Durant-Beal-Devin Booker didn't result in even one playoff win with the team getting swept out of the first round by the Minnesota Timberwolves last year before falling three games short of the play-in tournament this season.
Durant has one more year on a four-year, $194.2 million contract. It probably behooves the Suns to move him now and start a rebuild at this juncture. And it makes perfect sense for KD to move on as well, given that he's still incredibly productive (26.6 PPG) and very well capable of being a star player on a competitive team.
At 36 years old, it's understandable if Durant isn't interested in being on a losing team that could in theory tear it down, so this could be a scenario where it makes sense to move on from both sides' points of view.
As for the Rockets, they make sense. Houston is a young and competitive team that's enjoying an accelerated rebuild, vaulting from 11th place last year to the Western Conference's second seed this year.
Of course, the Rockets could hypothetically launch a deep playoff run this year and want to run it back with their group next season. However, an early playoff exit, as Charania noted, could perhaps change minds and force the Rockets into thinking about how they can make big waves to improve the roster.
For now, Durant remains a Sun, and the Rockets are looking forward to a first-round playoff matchup against the No. 7 seed Golden State Warriors.
NBA Rumors: Rockets 'Hope' They Don't Need to Trade for Star amid Kevin Durant Buzz
The Houston Rockets remain optimistic they already have a true "star" who can anchor a title contender in the years ahead, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon.
On the newest episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, MacMahon said the front office is closely examining whether "that No. 1 guy that they can build around, the kind of guy you need to be able to contend for a championship" is on the roster already.
"I spent a week in Houston—I'm working on a story along those lines—I can tell you that from Ime Udoka on up to ownership, the hope is that that guy is on the roster," the NBA insider said. "And there's a really high bar as far as if they're gonna package stuff this summer and go after somebody."
MacMahon added that the organization believes "there's maybe four, five guys on that roster" who can meet a star-level threshold.
This aligns with what he and colleague Brian Windhorst reported earlier this season. The Rockets, who sit second in the Western Conference, want to see what a promising young core can achieve together before they seriously entertain a marquee addition.
Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant could be one such target in the offseason. Per MacMahon, the Suns approached Houston with the idea ahead of the 2025 trade deadline. The Rockets, meanwhile, "have repeatedly expressed interest" in Devin Booker, which Suns team governor Mat Ishbia said is a nonstarter.
Phoenix is a bit of a cautionary tale in terms of managing an ascendant franchise with homegrown talent.
The Suns reached the 2021 NBA Finals and then won 64 games in 2021-22 while centered around Booker, Deandre Ayton and Mikal Bridges. Maybe they had hit their ceiling with that trio, but trading away Ayton and Bridges and pairing Durant and Bradley Beal with Booker certainly hasn't been a championship formula.
You'd expect the Rockets to cash in some of their trade chips down the road. When it's time for general manager Rafael Stone to be more aggressive, he can't afford to miss.
Video: Suns' Kevin Durant Says He Has 'Mad Respect' for Rockets' Roster Rebuild
Phoenix Suns star forward Kevin Durant had high praise for one of the most impressive young teams in the NBA.
While speaking to reporters following Wednesday's 119-111 loss to the Houston Rockets, Durant spoke glowingly about his opponents, who rank fourth in the Western Conference after improving to 34-20.
"I got mad respect for teams like this who were struggling for a few years, draft young, get a coach that holds them accountable and holds them to a standard and they start to take off," Durant told reporters. "I appreciate that, because we were a young team when I was coming into the league like that, and I know how hard it is to change your mentality from, 'S--t, we might go home in April every year' to 'Now we're in the playoffs.'"
Durant also cited his close relationships with head coach Ime Udoka, assistant coach Royal Ivey and veteran forward Jeff Green as a reason he enjoys following the growth of the Rockets.
Interestingly, the Rockets were "contemplating a pursuit" of Durant prior to last week's trade deadline, per The Athletic's Sam Amick, David Aldridge and Anthony Slater. ESPN's Brian Windhorst reported on Wednesday's episode of Get Up that Durant is "probably going to get traded this summer."
Perhaps Houston could emerge as Durant's next landing spot if he parts ways with Phoenix this offseason. He could be the veteran star the Rockets need to put them over the top as a true title contender in the West.