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The Brooklyn Nets had a chance to make a major shakeup at the NBA Trade Deadline. They decided otherwise. The Houston Rockets offered them a trade that would have sent them Jalen Green, but the Nets passed on it.
The Athletic’s Shams Charania gave the full details on the March 25 episode of “Run it Back.”
“The Rockets called the Nets on Mikal Bridges and I’m told they discussed a concept around Jalen Green and multiple first-round picks. That deal was not accepted by the Nets. And now look…”
@ShamsCharania on Jalen Green and the Houston Rockets.
“Taking us back two months ago, the Rockets called the Nets on Mikal Bridges, and I’m told they discussed the concept around Jalen Green and multiple first-round picks. That didn’t process anywhere,” Charania said.
Since February 29, Green has averaged 28.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, and three assists a game while shooting 49.6% from the field and 41.7% from three, per NBA.com. Green has had a bigger chance to shine since Alperen Sengun sprained his ankle.
Green may have gotten a similar chance in Brooklyn had the Nets pulled the trigger on the deal. Both the Nets and Rockets possess the No. 11 seed in their respective conferences. However, the Nets are five-and-a-half games behind the Hawks for the No. 10 seed, and the Rockets are one game behind the Warriors for the No. 10 seed.
Things may have turned out differently for both teams had they agreed to the trade.
Insider Adds More Jalen Green Trade Deadline Info
Charania brought up a discussed trade that had also been reported by Yahoo Sports Jake Fischer before the NBA Trade Deadline. Fischer reported the Nets-Rockets trade discussions involving Green and Bridges.
“Rival front offices were abuzz about the Rockets’ willingness to include former No. 2 pick Jalen Green in packages for Bridges and other marquee wings, league sources told Yahoo Sports, but conversations with Brooklyn never generated any traction, sources said,” Fischer wrote in a February 5 story.
Fischer added that teams around the league believed Green was on the table knowing the offseason moves they made.
“Still, many teams looked at the idea of trading Green and believed Houston was showing a desire to continue expediting a years-long rebuild after already signing veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks this past July.”
Green, of course, stuck around with the Rockets. However, had the Nets agreed to the trade, the Rockets may have potentially given back the draft assets they received from the James Harden trade in 2021.
Green and those assets could have helped the Nets start a new chapter in their franchise.
Bill Simmons Compares Jalen Green to Kobe Bryant
The Ringer’s Bill Simmons explained why he believes Green’s recent play has been reminiscent of Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant. He also acknowledged how lofty the comparison is.
“I’m gonna say this very carefully, and I know what’s at stake, and I know he’s not gonna be this person, but when I watch him, he reminds me — this version of the attacking the rim and then the jump shooting — reminds me a little of young Kobe,” Simmons said on the March 25 episode of “The Bill Simmons Podcast.”
Simmons added that Green is more specifically like the younger version of Bryant.
“Not like three-rings-in-a-row Kobe, but that late ’90s Kobe, where it was like, ‘Man, there’s a lot here. What’s goin’ on here?’ And watching him the last couple weeks, it’s like, man, if you were just drawing a 2-guard from scratch, from a scoring standpoint, what kinda move or shot doesn’t he have?”
Green’s play has helped the Rockets win 10 of their last 11 games.
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Nets Turned Down Trade for Blossoming Former No. 2 Pick: Report