Jalen Green admitted he wasn`t fully prepared for the intensity of the NBA playoffs. Facing the Golden State Warriors in Game 1 at the Toyota Center, a team featuring seasoned playoff veterans and future Hall of Famers, the atmosphere seemed overwhelming for Green and many of his young teammates making their postseason debut. This marked a significant step in the Rockets` rebuild, a painful process that began after trading James Harden but is now starting to yield considerable progress.
“The court looked huge,” Green recalled a few nights later. “I couldn`t really get a chance to settle in. My legs were a little shaky.”
Green`s performance in the 95-85 Game 1 loss reflected those nerves, as the 23-year-old scored only seven points on inefficient 3-of-15 shooting. That opening playoff game reinforced a common perception around the league: despite being the Western Conference`s surprising and competitive No. 2 seed, the Rockets still lack a crucial piece to become a genuine title contender.
“They trippin`,” Green asserted after bouncing back with an impressive 38 points in Houston`s Game 2 victory, showcasing the potential of the 2021 No. 2 overall pick. “I`m gonna go out and handle business at the end of the day. The ball is gonna be in my hands in the fourth quarter, and we`re gonna make something happen.”
However, the series hasn`t unfolded according to that script as it returned to Houston with the Rockets on the verge of elimination. Green again scored in single digits in both losses in San Francisco and found himself watching from the sidelines in the final minutes of Game 4, which was decided at the buzzer when Alperen Sengun missed a difficult potential go-ahead shot guarded by Draymond Green.
The pressing question remains: How will the Rockets acquire the elite offensive engine necessary for all championship-caliber teams?
Hope within the Houston organization is that this player can develop from their current roster. General manager Rafael Stone stated, “We are not in the business of predetermining ceilings for our players.”
Alternatively, Plan B involves leveraging the assets Houston patiently accumulated over the past five years to accelerate the process through a major trade.
Green is Houston`s leading scorer and one of several players the Rockets are “betting” on, as Stone describes it, to potentially evolve into the All-NBA talent required for a title run. Sengun, a skilled center, earned his first All-Star selection at age 22 this season. Amen Thompson, 22, the No. 4 pick in the 2023 draft, has already proven himself a dominant defensive force and is just beginning to tap into his offensive capabilities. Rockets management views guard Reed Sheppard, the No. 3 pick who has seen limited consistent minutes as a rookie, as potentially the most naturally gifted offensive player on the team.
“We`re all on the same page as far as what we have in our organization and wanting to see it through and seeing what all these young guys can become,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka recently told ESPN. “When you have this many high draft picks, you want to see who becomes what. I understood when I came to take the job that we were going to try to develop these guys and see what we can get to. I think they`ve all shown growth and potential. And the next step is, who can be that consistent leader for us?”
“So to try to expedite the process by going out and getting one piece now is kind of doing a disservice to what we all talked about coming into it. That`s our vision, and I think the playoffs this year will give us a good picture of that and put guys in different situations and high-pressure situations to see how they react to it.”
Evaluating the initial playoff experience for the Rockets` emerging young stars will be a key part of internal discussions. A blockbuster trade would require sacrificing some of that young talent, although Houston has indicated to other teams that Thompson is considered nearly untouchable.
“There`s no question in my mind that there are multiple guys on this roster now who can potentially be the best player on a championship team, given their age,” Patrick Fertitta, 30-year-old son of owner Tilman Fertitta and ownership`s liaison to basketball operations, told ESPN late in the regular season. “You don`t see guys at this age be that person yet, but I have a lot of confidence that one of these guys, if not a few of them, can become that.”
“With that being said, any time a guy at that level becomes available, it would be remiss not to do your due diligence.”
Jalen Green was the Houston Rockets` leading scorer this season. But outside of a 38-point performance in Game 2, Green has been held under 10 points in each game this series.
The Rockets have built a team reflecting their coach`s tough identity. The additions of gritty veterans Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, combined with the development of Houston`s young talent, propelled the Rockets to a massive improvement last season, followed by another leap to a 52-30 record this season.
Udoka`s team wins with toughness and physicality, ranking first in the league in rebounding rate and fifth in defensive rating, compensating for a league-average offense. However, this style has limitations without a true superstar presence.
“We know in the playoffs sometimes, it boils down to if you have an unguardable guy in the last five minutes that can close the game,” VanVleet told ESPN. “We got everything else. I don`t think it`s like some savior that`s going to come here and save all our sins, but it`s like, do you have a guy you could throw it to the last five minutes in a playoff series that can win you games when it matters the most?”
“I think that if we had that, I think we would be considered more title favorites. Now, you still can have success in the playoffs, but it`s just harder. The margin of error is smaller.”
VanVleet himself hasn`t been that high-volume closer, but he`s a valuable leader whose future in Houston seems secure whether his team option is picked up or he`s signed long-term. He echoes Udoka and the front office`s belief that potential superstars are already on the roster.
Inside the team`s new practice facility, some of the league`s top players are occasionally used as benchmarks for the young talent on the Rockets` roster.
For example, it`s been observed that Green`s early career statistics bear some resemblance to Phoenix Suns superstar Devin Booker`s first four seasons, although Booker had become an established elite scorer by this age, albeit on a struggling team. Current criticisms of Green focus on inconsistency and efficiency, but Booker`s trajectory serves as proof that a volume-scoring shooting guard can improve significantly in these areas as they mature and gain experience.
“I don`t know if you can go get another 2-guard with the upside or the talent level,” VanVleet said of Green. “[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.”
Sengun`s stats at age 22 evoke comparisons to three-time MVP Nikola Jokic at the same age, though rival scouts and executives often find three-time All-Star Domantas Sabonis a more pragmatic comparison among skilled, high-scoring big men.
“His highlights and his flash, everything is loud,” VanVleet said of Sengun. “His mistakes are loud, and his success is loud. Once he gets more where he`s hitting the singles on a daily basis, I think that his potential and his level will continue to grow.”
Rockets front office members internally ponder whether the 6-foot-7 Thompson, whose jump shot is still a work in progress, could eventually perform many of the things Russell Westbrook did in his prime. While Thompson hasn`t consistently been given point guard duties yet, the team hasn`t ruled out the possibility for the future.
Udoka demonstrated faith in Thompson`s potential when he called his number in the clutch, with the game on the line late in the Rockets` January 27 road contest against the defending champion Boston Celtics. Thompson attacked All-Star wing Jaylen Brown in isolation, creating space for a game-winning floater to cap a 33-point performance.
“He`s already become a really good NBA player,” Stone commented. “He should be much, much better than this year next year, and that should go on for the foreseeable future. Great kid, works really hard, is really smart. Everything we`ve asked him to do, he`s done. He`s done it quickly and at times shockingly easily.”
Sheppard`s name is occasionally linked to that of Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash, another smaller guard who played sparingly as a rookie. At 6-2, 185 pounds, Sheppard faces a significant adjustment to the NBA, particularly on a competitive team, but the Rockets remain optimistic about his potential to become a star.
“I think Reed`s just a really, really talented player,” Stone said. “Very few people shoot as well as him. Very few people pass as well as him, and more even than pass, see the offense so clearly and so easily. That`s not really a skill that is taught, not at the level he can do it. We think that he has a chance to be really special.”
Once Houston`s season concludes, team leadership will have a clearer understanding of how close the Rockets are to being serious contenders. This assessment will influence offseason decisions, though the Rockets are hesitant to make moves that would shorten their potential window for championship contention.
“This league and this business is a very emotional one,” Patrick Fertitta observed. “There`s the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, and it`s important that you don`t make wholesale changes, or even changes on the margins, based on emotion.”
Rockets second-year forward Amen Thompson averaged 14.1 points this season, up from 9.5 as a rookie.
The core group guiding the Rockets – Stone, Udoka, and Patrick Fertitta – share the ambition of allowing this young roster to mature together. Nevertheless, it`s expected that discussions, at minimum, will take place this summer regarding pursuing potential stars via the trade market.
Would acquiring Kevin Durant, heading into his age-37 season, make sense for the Rockets, considering the trade cost and contract implications? How aggressively would Houston pursue 30-year-old Giannis Antetokounmpo if he were to request a trade from Milwaukee? What about younger stars who better fit Houston`s timeline? Is Zion Williamson`s immense talent worth the potential risks? Could Ja Morant become a trade target if his situation changes?
“It`s a very high bar to do a transaction that changes things,” Stone told ESPN, emphasizing confidence that the continued improvement of current young players can fuel the Rockets` rise.
Patrick Fertitta was the Rockets executive who famously stated the organization was “comfortable being uncomfortable” after James Harden, the team`s longtime face, demanded a trade during the 2020 offseason. Though initially anonymous, Fertitta is now proud of that quote.
Those three words encapsulated the patient approach the Rockets have followed for the past five years.
The philosophy specifically applied to navigating Harden`s aggressive discontent while seeking a trade that could set the Rockets up for a future championship window. Houston`s leaders decided to prioritize the historic haul of first-round picks from the Brooklyn Nets over the Philadelphia 76ers` offer centered around then-All-Star guard Ben Simmons – a decision initially criticized but which has proven remarkably prescient.
Patrick Fertitta and Stone had to convince Tilman Fertitta, a billionaire who bought the franchise during a period of elite performance, that intentionally rebuilding from the bottom was the most realistic route back to contention. They also had to persuade Tilman to stick with the plan at times over the ensuing three seasons when Houston won a combined total of just 59 games.
Nearly five years later, the Rockets` roster is heavily populated by direct and indirect benefits from the Harden trade. Green, Jabari Smith Jr., and Thompson were acquired with high lottery picks resulting from the team`s poor records during that three-year stretch. Tari Eason, like Smith a valuable defensive role player, and Sheppard were selected using picks obtained from Brooklyn.
In a separate deal last summer, Houston returned control of Brooklyn`s first-round pick in the next two drafts in exchange for another collection of picks. Consequently, the Rockets own the Suns` 2025, 2027, and 2029 picks, as well as the Dallas Mavericks` 2029 first-rounder. Houston also retained first-round swap rights with the Nets in 2027.
These assets provide the Rockets with the flexibility to engage in any superstar trade discussions this summer – if they ultimately choose to pursue that path. This decision is far from certain, regardless of their playoff outcome.
“Even though it can be exciting to feel like you are as close as you may be, it`s important to move with the same level of patience that got us to where we are and to make sure that we`re always making decisions based on not just today but the future,” Patrick Fertitta concluded. “Because we never want to value the near term over the long term. If the right opportunity presents itself where we feel like we can get materially better, we`re always going to do the work to know if it`s the right thing to do.”
“But in a perfect world, we`d love to see this group grow up together as they already have and become contenders in this league. And if everybody can get better, individually and collectively, we think that this group that we have today has the ability to compete in May and June – and hopefully sooner than later.”
