{"id":151201,"date":"2025-07-20T06:30:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-20T10:30:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=151201"},"modified":"2025-07-20T05:21:14","modified_gmt":"2025-07-20T09:21:14","slug":"rockets-did-jalen-green-trade-once-before","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/07\/20\/rockets-did-jalen-green-trade-once-before\/","title":{"rendered":"The Rockets Did The Jalen Green Trade Once Before"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jalen Green<\/a>‘s up-and-down expedition with the Houston Rockets has reached its conclusion. The team traded the Dunkstronaut<\/a> to the Phoenix Suns for former scoring champion Kevin Durant<\/a>. However, even in Green’s departure, his parallels to a former Rockets icon continue<\/a>. The Green trade has remarkable similarities to when the Rockets swapped Steve Francis<\/a> for former scoring champion Tracy McGrady<\/a>. Will this young franchise player trade work out better for the Rockets?<\/p>\n

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May 4, 2025; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green (4) shoots the ball during the fourth quarter of game seven of the first round for the 2025 NBA Playoffs against the Golden State Warriors at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Rockets Did The Jalen Green Trade Once Before<\/h2>\n

Green averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists over four seasons and 307 games with the Rockets. His shooting splits were 42.2% from the field, 34.2% from three, and 79.9% from the free throw line. Normally, it would be fair to exclude a player’s rookie season from a summation like that, but Green has actually yet to surpass the 54.7% true shooting<\/a> percentage he achieved in his debut.<\/p>\n

Green will probably be remembered most for his erratic performances, and perhaps his especially lackluster ones in six out of seven<\/a> playoff encounters versus the Golden State Warriors. But the Green era wasn’t all bad in Houston. He was the leading scorer<\/a> for a 50-win second seed in a loaded Western Conference. Green put together stretches of excellent play that seemed to show glimpses of a future superstar shooting guard.<\/p>\n

But the Rockets’ front office had seen enough. They pulled the trigger on a deal to acquire a star scoring wing to pair with their international All-Star center. It is a move similar to the Rockets’ 2004 upgrade from Stevie Franchise to T-Mac.<\/p>\n

The Young Franchise Players<\/h3>\n

Green and Francis were both electric guards who wowed Rockets fans with their athleticism and explosive dunking ability. Francis was the better player of the two, at the very least relative to the league at the time. He was a three-time All-Star with the Rockets, albeit in an era when the fan vote held more sway. Francis’ immense popularity carried him to a starter spot in all three years. It’s also true that the Western Conference guard depth wasn’t very formidable at the time. He averaged 19.3 points, 6.1 rebounds, 6.4 assists on 43.1% from the field and 34.6% from three over 374 games with the Rockets<\/a>.<\/p>\n