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Jalen Green on Houston’s Kevin Durant trade: “This is a business, and if I was up there in the executive chair, I probably would’ve made the deal, too.”
Jalen Green didn’t want to be traded away from the Rockets in the deal that brought All-Star forward Kevin Durant to Houston.
But the 23-year-old, drafted at No. 2 overall in the 2021 first round and now a starting guard for the Phoenix Suns, does understand it.
In a self-authored Players Tribune article saying farewell to Houston, Green indicates that if he was somehow in the position of general manager Rafael Stone, he’d likely have made the same decision.
Green writes:
Listen, nobody likes to get traded. But I can honestly say that I get it, bro. This is a business, and if I was up there in the executive chair, I probably would’ve made the deal, too. I think it’s a better situation for both sides, and I’m just excited to get it popping with Book (Devin Booker), and to create that winning culture that we figured out down here in Houston.
After Green’s first two NBA seasons featured 22 or fewer wins and spots at the bottom of the Western Conference standings, the Rockets improved to 52-30 and No. 2 in the West in 2024-25. Green was the leading scorer and clearly played a key role in that success, along with transitioning Houston out of its aforementioned rebuild.
But given the presence of Amen Thompson and Alperen Sengun as rising stars and quality veterans such as Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams, the Rockets felt they were an elite perimeter scorer away from becoming a serious championship contender. Green might become that in time, but Durant is already that, at present.
Thus, the trade, which came weeks after Green’s underwhelming first-round series in the 2025 NBA playoffs. It’s a move that earned high approval ratings for Stone and the Rockets, and one that makes so much sense that even Green seemingly understands it, himself.
Green’s complete article can be viewed here.
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