It’s been roughly 24 hours since it was first reported that the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns had agreed to a blockbuster trade, sending future Hall-of-Fame forward Kevin Durant to H-Town.
During Monday morning’s episode of “First Take” on ESPN, Stephen A. Smith gave his analysis of the news, claiming that there was one player involved in the trade who could’ve drastically changed the details of the deal if he’d played better in the playoffs.
“When you look at Jalen Green, we’re not going to insult him, but I’ll be damned if I’m not going to throw shade,” Smith said. “Had that man showed up in the postseason against the Golden State Warriors and played better, this wouldn’t have happened. Jalen Green showed you he ain’t ready and the rest of the Houston Rockets showed you they very well may be. … If you’re the Houston Rockets, if you don’t make a deal like this, then you’re relying on Jalen Green.”
Smith did add some praise for Jalen Green, admitting that the 23-year-old former second overall draft pick is talented.
“Now Jalen Green, just so you know in case he’s watching, my brother, you’ve got talent. We all know, you (are) young, the athleticism is off the charts etc.,” the ESPN media personality said. “But you gotta work on developing a consistent jumper, you’re too streaky. In five of the seven games (against the Warriors) the brother scored in single digits. That is unacceptable.”
Green was sent to Phoenix along with small forward Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the 2025 draft and five second-round picks.
Green Followed up Big Regular Season With Weak Playoff Performance
The Rockets selected Green with the No. 2 pick in 2021, and he averaged 17.3 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 31.9 minutes per game across 67 contests as a rookie while shooting a career-best 42.6% from the field. Green was named First Team All-Rookie and finished fourth in the NBA’s Rookie of the Year voting and then had arguably his best season in 2022-23.
He finished his second campaign with career highs in points (22.1), assists (3.7) and minutes (34.2) per tilt before his numbers dipped slightly in 2023-24. Green then led Houston in (21.0 points per game) during the 2024-25 regular season, was the only player on the team to appear in all 82 contests and added 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists per tilt with a .423/.354/.813 shooting line.
The California native had a rough playoff debut this spring, however, averaging just 13.3 points with a .372/.295/.667 shooting line during the Rockets’ seven-game first-round series loss to the Golden State Warriors.
Green Had Been in the Middle of Durant Trade Rumors For Weeks
For much of the spring, especially following Houston’s early playoff exit, it seemed that Green was going to be the odd man out in a possible Durant trade.
It had been reported recently that the Rockets were “unwilling” to let go of First Team All-Defensive selection Amen Thompson in a potential KD trade.
Thompson led the Rockets in field goal percentage (55.7%) and blocks per tilt (1.3) during the 2024-25 campaign, while tying for third in scoring at 14.1 points per game.
22-year-old All-Star center Alperen Sengun was also reportedly unlikely to be available to the Suns in a Durant deal, leaving Green as the most likely of Houston’s young stars to be sent packing.
That theory ended up coming to fruition.
Stephen A. Smith Blasts Jalen Green, Blames Him for Kevin Durant Trade