Opting to play in the G-League this year instead of going the traditional collegiate route to the NBA, Jalen Green finds himself as one of this year’s best draft prospects. The 6’6” shooting guard is arguably the most athletic player in this year’s draft class and with the 2021 NBA Draft just under two weeks away, his status as one of the first few guys off the board seems to be solidified.
Sources have told NBA Analysis Network that Jalen Green is expected to be the No. 2 pick in this year’s draft by the Houston Rockets, assuming that they hold onto this draft pick and do not look to trade it.
Over the last few weeks, the Detroit Pistons, who own the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft, have been fielding trade offers from various teams looking to move up in the draft. The Cavaliers, Pelicans, Thunder and even the Rockets have inquired about the Pistons draft pick and what it would take to move up in the draft, according to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony.
Houston has been one of the more “aggressive” teams in terms of potentially moving up one spot in the draft and this is because of how much they love Cade Cunningham. The 6’8” point guard out of Oklahoma State is presumably this year’s No. 1 overall pick and given that John Wall is not the future of the Rockets, they have fallen in love with the idea of creating a young backcourt duo of Cade Cunningham and Kevin Porter Jr.
However, if the Pistons do keep the No. 1 overall pick, they are expected to take Cunningham with no questions asked, even though they just drafted Killian Hayes 7th overall last year at the point guard position. If Houston is unable to strike a deal to move up, they will be more than happy with selecting Jalen Green to pair with Porter Jr. instead and then tend to favor him over Evan Mobley with the second overall pick.
There is a slim opportunity though that the Houston Rockets could look to strike a deal with Detroit right before the NBA Draft though. Moving Eric Gordon is something Houston would love to do this offseason, but finding a team to take on the three years, $58.7M remaining on his contract will be tough. Gordon is now 32-years-old and not worth this kind of money anymore based on his stats, but all throughout his career, he has been a consistent contributor on the offensive-end of the floor and he would bring immediate playoff experience to any team he could potentially be traded to.
Trading Gordon, one of their late first-round picks this year at No. 23 or No. 24 overall, as well as a future first-round pick could be intensing enough to some teams picking later in the lottery like the Hornets, Spurs, Pacers and Warriors. Acquiring this extra lottery pick to pair with the second overall pick could be enough to convince the Detroit Pistons to relinquish their No. 1 overall pick, but again, the Pistons do like Cunningham’s potential and may not want to deal this pick afterall.
Detroit was another team to be interested in Jalen Green as a possible draft choice, but if they hold onto this first overall pick, then they will be selecting Cunningham. This would then lead the Rockets to quickly draft Jalen Green with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, thus giving them the guy they have had their eyes on for months now.
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In 15 G-League games this year, Jalen Green averaged 17.9 points per game and shot 36.5% from three-point range. He is a really good playmaker, but because of his high motor and score-first mentality, he can be turnover prone at times. This is an easy fix though, especially if he is not the one having the ball up the court every possession
Jalen Green is exactly the kind of player the Houston Rockets need in their rotation and he has that “it” factor they need to find with this No. 2 overall pick. By adding Green, the Rockets would have their next young superstar that they can begin to build around for the foreseeable future. Assuming they do not make any trading involving the No. 2 overall pick, it seems like Jalen Green is going to be going to the Houston Rockets.
