New Houston Rockets Trade Rumors: Jalen Green Being Shopped? + Interest In Robert Williams

New Houston Rockets Trade Rumors: Jalen Green Being Shopped? + Interest In Robert Williams

On today’s show should the Houston Rockets trade for em OD Doo’s former center with the Boston Celtics Robert Williams plus has Jaylen green finally turned a corner and if he has should the Rockets sell high on him or keep him longterm to see what he can ultimately

Turn into we’re going to unpack it all coming up right here at lock on Rockets this is Mission Control Houston ignition sequence start throw it up to jayen Green shenon here in the short row oh my that’s the no Jabari for three and the win look at T here

Comes at 15 seconds guidance is internal the Houston Rockets select amen Thompson and cam Whitmore one thing I have never done is not made the playoffs and so we want to take that step here as well 6 5 4 3 2 one what’s up and welcome to another edition

Of locked on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball as always I’m your host Jackson Gatlin n houstonian and credential media member I’m also the host of lockon NBA Mondays be sure to follow along on Twitter at JT Gatlin and the show of course at lockon Rockets

Free and available wherever you listen to your podcast including YouTube and as always thank you so much for making lock on Rockets part of your day every single day whether it’s on your way to work on your lunch break in the gym thank you for being it every day or making the

Show part of your day every single day joining us now is none other than your weekly co-host the podfather himself Rockets wire editor and host of the logger line podcast B Dubose you can track down on Twitter at Bend Dubose here because we’ve got a lot to talk

About a lot of trade rumors a lot of trade scuttlebutt floating around out there as we approach the NBA trade deadline and one of the names that the Houston Rockets might be showing some interest in is Robert Williams former Center during oka’s days with the Boston Celtics I believe Chris Haynes

Originally reporting that there’s some interest there in Oka potentially being reunited with his big man from his days in Boston and this is the name that you know some Rockets fans have shown interest in as the season has moved along now it’s worth noting that Robert

Williams is out for the Year this this was this is not a play that’s going to help the Rockets this season this would be kind of a move where you’re not necessarily punting on this season but with the assets of the rocket have on hand the expiring deals of Victor

Oladipo and and effectively what is an expiring deal in jock landale should they decide to use him as basically an aggregatable traded player exception um you could make the math work on a deal and bring back Robert Williams Time Lord and and have him you know if you’re

Confident that the Medicals can get to a place where you actually feel good about him maybe not in a starting role and playing that heavy load of starters minutes but in a reserve role maybe that that’s you know an area where you’d be less concerned about his body holding up

Over the course of an 82 Game season plus a postseason run which it hasn’t been able to do unfortunately yeah I saw David weiner be maog on Twitter SLX point out that you could offer a protected first run pick which is what I would be inclined to do

Try and make sure you get lottery protection or at least top 10 protection because given the injury history I would be extremely reluctant to give up potentially a top 10 pick from Brooklyn for Robert Williams with that said if you could give yourself some insurance for scenarios where the Brooklyn pick

Ends up a really good asset then would I be interested sure he’s just 26 years old he’s played well for eme udoka before he’s done it in a winning environment for a Boston team that went to the NBA finals now the injury concerns are real but that’s what you

Pay a medical staff to go through so do you check out his Medicals sure but if they come to the conclusion that once this heals and he reports to training camp next season that he would be looked at as similar to any other player on the

Roster in terms of inury risk then of course I’d be interested in someone who again is just 26 years old and has proven it as opposed to someone you might draft this Summer that would probably be a couple of years away from contrib contributing at a winning level

And there’s risk with any draft pick with Robert he’s done it this is a proven commodity so the injury question without I think the Rockets could get him without even giving up a pick though because when you look at the situation I don’t know about that see that’s and

That’s the harder part right is he’s a guy that’s he’s had the injury issues he’s got the there’s the injury risk all that but he’s also under contract for the rest of the season and two more years on top of that so I do wonder if there’s a world where maybe you could

Get Robert Williams either just because the Blazers want to offload that salary and there is some like inherent value in being able to give them you know salary relief as kind of a an asset in a trade so the expiring deals by themselves would kind of be the asset and it’s just

You know not a one forone swap but you know Robert Williams for I guess you could do straight up Robert Williams for Jack landale call it a day or Robert Williams for Victor Oladipo and call it a day now that might not be enough but I would definitely not give up the

Brooklyn Nets pick even even with protections on it Lottery protected top 10 protected I don’t think I’d go that far what David was saying with the protections was that if those protections kicked in then you would give up two second run picks and if you were Lottery protect it then I think the

Odds are pretty high that Brooklyn is going to miss the playoffs this season which would make that a lottery Pick and then at that point you’d be giving up two seconds now would Portland do that deal I don’t know but in the small chance that Brooklyn makes the playoffs

And that pick is in the back 15 of what’s considered a pretty weak first round of the 2024 draft I think I’d give that up because look I do not think Robert Williams even with his injury history is viewed as a negative asset that Brooklyn or or that Portland excuse

Me would want to offload he’s going to be making less than $13 million on average the next two years which is a below average rate and this is someone that as recently as the 2022 playoffs was playing a key role for a really good

Team and it’s just 26 years old so I do not buy the notion that they’re just going to be looking to shed salary here no if they move him it’s because they view it as a chance to be opportunistic and get a real asset and so that goes

Into well would they actually do that protected deal that uh David throughout I don’t know and if it’s more than that then I agree with you I would not go to the length of you know potentially giving up a top 10 pick that’s just way too risky for a guy with his injury

History I get it if that’s the cost I would just roll the dice on one of these big men in the draft for all the stuff about 2024 being a weak draft it does have a lot of good depth centers that you could plug into that hole behind

Alper and shenon so I would not mortgage a lot I think um David was also mentioning the potential of perhaps acquiring both Robert Williams and Malcolm Brogden two guys the Rockets could have interest in and reports have said are interested in Jake fiser linking the Rockets to Brogden from the

Same team in Portland so maybe it’s a two birds one stone thing but in a vacuum given the fact that Robert Williams has done it in the playoffs he’s done it for em udoka he actually has ties to Houston played his college ball at Texas A&M so there’s familiarity

With the area I suspect he would want to be here if the medical team clears him to me there’s enough lining up to where I would give up you know some asset let’s just not get crazy with you know an unprotected Brooklyn pick or anything

Like that and I do think when you when you lay it out that way if you could put some heavy protections on the Brooklyn pick and have it turn into you know a couple seconds or whatever if it doesn’t convey down the line then I’d be more

Inclined to do the tradeit if that’s kind of what it looks like but that’s I I’m glad you bring up the point of maybe getting a package deal back Malcolm Brogden and Robert Williams because then it’s you get you get a guy who is an immediate impact guy who does help the

Team right here right now at a kind of I I wouldn’t necessarily say a position of need but you know he provides a skill set that this Rockets team desperately needs having an additional you know backup ball handler someone who can run and initiate the offense added shooting another veteran presence all those

Things that Malcolm Brogden provides I think that would be huge but then I I I just don’t know if the Rockets have enough workable salary to get up to what it would cost because brogen’s making 22.5 million uh Robert Williams is making 115 this season so you’d need to

Get up to what that’s 33 million you need to get close to that um and I don’t know into the mid mid to Upper 20s I actually think you could the bigger question is whether Portland could create the necessary roster spots but if you combined landale olad Depot and one

Of Jan Tate or Jeff Green then you’re going to be in the mid 20s and you’re going to be close enough at that point I don’t think you can do Jeff Green you can’t do Jeff Green if you’re not getting a serviceable big back because he’s effectively your backup five yeah

Okay then Jan Tate but the point is you could get to the mid 20s there’s also other deals you could make you know you might could you know get a a flyer into a trade exception to help fill the backup center role for this season since Robert Williams would be for a future

Year but the point is at least from a math standpoint the Rockets can get there the bigger question is and this is why a lot of Trades happen in the offseason Portland would have to clear three or four roster spots um or I guess in this case it’d be a little bit

Because we be talking three for two four for two but yeah it wouldn’t be an apple to Apple so could they clear the roster spots maybe I guess you could also rope in or third or fourth team but that’s what makes it while not impossible it’s more difficult during the season because

You do have to navigate roster spots in a way you don’t in the offseason when you can have up to 21 guys and you’d also imagine that the guys that they are bringing in that are effectively expiring deals right jack landale Victor ladipo those guys could be guys that

Would probably be maybe waved right away maybe a guy like Jan Tate has some value where maybe they would bring him in in a trade and then look to maybe flip him to another team if there’s still enough time and it’s not one of those uh trade deadline buzzer beaters um where they’ve

Maybe got some time to either rope in a third team or or do something but there are there is something there and I do think that if you were able to get a permutation of that trade where it includes Brogden and uh Robert Williams then I’d be inclined to remove or or or

Weaken some of those protections on the Brooklyn pick uh you know I don’t know how far we’re going like maybe top four protections top six I don’t know what you would get into there but I like the idea and I hope it’s something that raell stone and the rockets explore cuz

I do think there is uh some Merit to that trade but there is some other trade scuttlebutt around the association centered around a guy who maybe is proving that he shouldn’t be in these trade discussions in the first place Jaylen green we’re going to talk about

If he has found a new version of himself if he’s turned a corner uh and what that kind of means as we approach the NBA trade deadline with some possible uh Buzz circulating around his name we’re going to get there in just one moment first today’s episode is brought

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Apply and continuing on here at lockdown Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball now Jaylen green fresh off of what I believe and what many are calling the best game of his NBA career against the Los Angeles Lakers 34 points 12 boards s dimes career-high 12 boards led the team

In that Cate well tied Al BR shingon in that category you know Ben it feels like the approach has been a little bit different for Jaylen over these last few games so before we get into some of the reported Rumblings about whether the Rockets are looking to move on from

Let’s kind of tackle this you know does it it kind to me it kind of feels like this is something different than what we’ve seen before yes because we’ve seen the flash in the pan success with Jaylen we’ve seen him have a hot shooting night this feels different because this kind

Of feels like there are sustainable elements to the play that we’ve seen over these last handful of games it the rebounding feels very intentional very different it’s something that Oka spoke about postgame that they that they’ve worked with Jaylen green on specifically so has Jaylen turned a corner is he or

Is he in the process of turning the corner and if so does that mean that the rocket should retract any feelers that they’ve maybe put out there or we can get into the discussion of does this mean they should try and sell high on Jaylen green ahead of the trade deadline

If that’s the case yeah so I’ll start with the basketball before we transition to the trade stuff because that’s a lot to unpack in one answer sure what I will say from a basketball standpoint it’s important to note that this is now a four game stretch it’s started with that

Wednesday game that first half he had against Portland which felt like and to some extent was the dawning of a new era at least in the confines of this season but nobody wanted to really talk about it postgame because of course that was a brutal loss a game they had no business

Losing but he carried it over into the weekend in Charlotte and Brooklyn and then backed it up Monday against the Lakers with just an insanely good performance and a few days ago I was talking to a mutual friend of ours in the Rockets fan community and he asked

Me what would need to happen over the back half of the season because we’re basically at the Midway point or were as of last week uh what would need to happen for us to feel significantly different about jaylen’s long-term Outlook relative to what we think about

It or did think about it a week ago when most of us were fairly down on him it’s been an underwhelming season we’ve talked about that at nauseum throughout the year and for me what I kept coming back to it’s an interesting thought exercise and I keep coming back to

There’s got to be something different to the formula because we’ve seen these stretches throughout his first two and a half years in the NBA where he gets hot we know he can do that but at this point it’s tough to see it being consistent if that’s the formula if it’s still the

Same shot diet the same approach that he’s had the first two and a half years sure he’ll have a couple of weeks where he catches fire but how do you have confidence that he’s not going to regress into what we’ve seen you know particularly in December when he was

Really awful he has some weeks where he’s gr as other weeks where he’s just awful and that’s the maddening inconsistency not just in terms of execution but even his mental Approach at times that’s defined his first two and a half years and yes it’s typical of

Young players but now year three with a proven head coach in EM udoka this is a time in which he needs to start you know showing signs that he’s evolving and that he’s putting that stuff behind him and hopefully that’s what the last week is and when you look at how he’s putting

Together these games what really impresses me is that you are seeing some changes he’s averaging 6.8 free throws per game over these last four that’s way up from about four and a half that was his average going into this stretch we’ve talked a lot throughout this

Season about year two the one clear step forward for him he got to 6.1 free throws per game and then for whatever reason that fell off now not only over the past week as he gotten it back he’s actually taken it to another level at 6.8 that’s small it’s just four games

But if it continues that is something different from the formula I also look because it certainly feels like he’s being more aggressive and the free throw attempts reflect that but also the amount of two-point shots to three-point shots for the season as a whole before

This stretch he was at about 45 46% of his shot attempts per game being threes over the past week that’s trickled down to about 40% and it may actually be lower because a lot of those two-point shots he’s attempted don’t actually count as shot attempts if he draws fouls

And doesn’t make the shot so if anything because he’s driving so much it might even be a little lower than 40% because he’s taking more twos it’s just the field goal attempts don’t reflect it because he’s getting free throws and the shot doesn’t count when he misses it so

He’s taking more twos he’s getting to the free throw line more and yeah to be an absolute star he probably needs to be you know a high volume three-point guy that’s just sort of part for the course in the modern NBA but at this point I don’t trust his shot mechanics yet it’s

Been a pretty long sample two and a half years where he has not shot threes at at a super high level to where I’m not going to say that with time he can’t become an elite shooter but if he suddenly starts shooting like 45 or 50%

From three for a couple of weeks I don’t buy it that on the Fly he’s just figured out the shooting and now he’s going to be a clearly above average guy no to me the shooting is more of a longer term goal maybe two three years down the line

He becomes a clearly above average maybe he can even get to an elite level but for now it’s sort of uh average at best you know a little bit above average it’s not a clear strength just yet what is a clear strength is his power his explosion his burst the reads have

Gotten better this year he does when he’s focused and aggressive have a unique ability to draw contact because you know he can get to spots that a lot of even guards can’t get to because it’s not that quick not that explosive and so the fact that he’s using those skills

More and the data clearly supports that he is to me while it’s a small sample I get it it’s at least a material change to the formula it’s not like there was one game at the end of December right after Christmas remember when they got blown out by Phoenix the game where Eric

Gordon went off he went six of 12 from three that game I remember I remember seeing those threes and I remember getting even push back in the recap for that episode because people were like he went six of 12 from three why are you unhappy and I was like cuz they it did

He got hot like that’s what it was that’s what I’m talking about yeah it was the same diet the step back threes it’s just for one game they happen to go in at this point no I do not think that on the fly in a matter of a week or two

I you know I love Ben Sullivan but no I don’t think Ben Sullivan is so good that he’s just gonna you know snap his fingers and just one day oh we’ve turned Jaylen green and Steph Curry no that’s not how it works that’s not saying that

Jaylen can’t get better as a shooter but at this point to make a dramatic Improvement to where he’s clearly above average maybe even bordering on Elite that’s years in terms of what he can do to be a better player the rest of this season and next season it’s going to be

Harnessing the tools that he has today and using them in a better Manner and so when you look under the hood and you see that he’s taking more twos that he’s getting the free throw line more I’m not going to say for sure that this will

Work time will tell but at least it’s a different formula and for me to go back you know to take it full circle to the question that was posed to me that’s what I would need to be open to thinking that maybe Jaylen green has figured it

Out and going into the offseason if he sustains this saying hey it’s not just a random hot stretch that he actually did figure something out that he’s going to carry into year four if it’s not just oh he starts randomly making more shots but he actually changes his approach and

Leans into some different things changes the formula the shot diet whatever you want to call it if all that happens and we should also note aside from scoring there was a great quote from eay udoka postgame after the Lakers game about uh the rebounding which has really improved

Over the last week he had a career high 12 against the Lakers and eay said they put together Montage of Clips where Jaylen was just basically sitting and watching and they called him out sounded like remember the old like James Harden Vine videos from back in the day yeah

And he sort of got publicly shamed bullied whatever you want to call it into trying harder it sounds like that’s what the Rockets did in their film work with Jaylen and to this point it’s working and he has the type of athleticism and vertical that he should

Be able to get some of those mid-range rebounds and so that’s another thing if you can lean into that bottom line is can he change the formula change the approach to where it’s not just him getting hot like Phoenix game but he’s actually materially changing the way

He’s going about his business on the court on a day in day out basis if that continues then yes he’s still young enough year three 21 years old to where I could potentially Buy in not going to do it 100% yet because it’s just four games but the path is there that just

Means if if emok is calling out jayen green in practice that just means he’s a hater um no I I kid look I think that when you see the th this style of approach like I I’ve been told before and talking to some assistant coaches and you know uh members around around

The team just that that Jaylen is a guy that they wanted at one point in time to get be getting you know 10 to 12 threes up per game and that’s because this is a Rockets organization that has PR you know prided itself on being analytically

Focused and wanting to take the the the the highest quality shots in the game and obviously threes are those shots but if that’s not who you are as a player it’s trying to fit a square peg into a round hole and it’s never felt like that

Is who Jaylen is as a player and so I think the mold for Jaylen right the recipe for success for Jaylen is potentially something along the line of a deer and fox jawar kind of hybrid right neither of those guys are afraid of taking threes Fox and mor will gladly

Take three-pointers when the defense gives them to them and they are respected enough shooters that it does open up the rest of their game but the three ball isn’t their primary weapon right those guys like to get downhill they leverage their scoring gravity into playmaking Reps for their teammates like

Like that is I think the recipe for Success not to say that Jaylen Green’s future is as a a lead guard primary ball hand Handler point guard whatever you want to call it in today’s NBA but at least that style of approach that style of offensive approach emulating a dearn

Fox and SL or ja Morant especially when you see kind of the athleticism you know similarities between Jaylen and jaw you look at the way that those two guys are kind of built um if Jaylen can start kind of taking little elements from their game and building upon that then I

Do think there is a a pathway for suain sustained success to where you just change the approach you change the shot profile around a little bit and then you’ve got a guy who you you feel confident about has found a way to be a consistent offensive force not just a

Guy who has to get hot in a given game and when he get and when he gets hot he’s incredibly hot right like we’ve seen the highs they’re they’re impressive but it’s about finding a way for him to be consistently effective offensively even if the three Ball’s not

Falling right he had that one game which uh which game it was the Charlotte game where the three ball wasn’t falling in that game he was like one of six one of seven from three but he was attacking downhill 36 three quars even not making threes it didn’t matter because the rest

Of the game was consistent enough and reliable enough that hey three balls not falling cool no worries I’m going to still take advantage of what I can do and I know we’ve got to hit the break so I’ll be quick on this I I think the rockets at this point have to consider

The floor scenarios more when they’re looking at Jaylen green the player in year three the last couple of years it was fine to be idealistic because the seasons were sort of experimental anyway and he’s young enough to where you’re not going to be out of the jayen

Green business no matter what he does the first couple of years so I think you know in an ideal world for him to actually be a superstar at some point he probably does need to hit threes at high volume and so I think they’ve tried to

Make him that guy well the thing is you know people on social media got so much Flack for comparing him to like Jordan Clarkson types well the thing you’ve got to consider by the time you get into year three year four they’re absolutely worst wor case scenarios than Jordan

Clarkson you could just be not a good player period And so even if the shot diet you know dialing back the threes to an extent at this point in time might make it more difficult for him to be a true star in the NBA you’re at a point

Now where you’ve got to start considering the floor scenarios and I would say even if you know it makes him closer at least now he’s more athletic than Jordan Clarkson but you know makes him more of sort of a good but not great player in terms of his ceiling that’s

Okay you’re at a point now where he just needs to prove that he can be a productive player on a consistent basis now maybe in time he can build up that three-point shot to where you get back to some of those more idealistic models that you know involve him scoring you

Know 30 points per game on high volume from three but we’re deep enough into his career now and habits really count now that you’re in a contending environment under or at least trying to win environment not yet contending but trying to get there under eme udoka you’ve really got to

Consider not just the ceiling but the floor and at this point I think it’s got to start by making him simply a productive player on a night in Night Out basis someone that you know what you’re going to get and even if that caps his ceiling just a little bit in

The short term that’s fine just build confidence in him build confidence in the coaching staff that they can trust him just make him consistently a good player and then as time progresses maybe the shooting can come along to where then you can dial up the three point

Shot to where you can eventually nudge the true shooting you know make him a true shooting Merchant like some of the you know Elite guards of this era point is you can get to that in time at this point we’re deep enough into his career

What we saw the first half of the year that cannot continue that’s just too damning you’ve got at least go back to to some degree to Basics let’s just get him started on the path of consistently being good and then as far as optimizing the shot profile and making and taking

More threes we can get to that to that down the road doesn’t have to be solved right now let’s just make the floor a lot higher than it’s been the first half of this season and if they can do that then thatd feel a lot better going into

Year four coming up we’re going to get into the trade the recent trade rumors brought up by Zack low on his podcast about jayen green and whether the Rockets are you know potentially Fielding calls looking to maybe try to make a move with him ahead of this

Year’s NBA trade deadline we’re going to get there in just one moment first today’s episode brought to you bu LinkedIn at the start of the new year every small business owner is asking themselves the same question what’s the one move I can make that’ll take my business to the next level in

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On Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball now on the latest Zack low podcast the low post Zack low and uh noted Rockets fan Chan OU were talking about jayen Green and Zach mentioned that he’s hearing a little bit of buzz from Agents and League sources that Jaylen green

Might be kind of a surprise in some eyes trade candidate ahead of the NBA trade deadline now Chan kind of talked about the fact that Jaylen you know might not actually be a lock to be a part of the Houston Rockets kind of young core moving forward and I I think where we’re

At right when the reason we we set up the show this way to talk about has Jaylen turned a corner what what is he doing before we got into this trade discussion is you know if organizationally you feel confident that you have found a recipe for Success at

Least here in the short term for Jaylen green as you as you pointed out right a higher floor level scenario for Jaylen green to have success then to me it doesn’t make sense to to to trade Jaylen green unless you’re getting back unless he’s like the the crown jewel of like a

Big trade right like a splashy trade for an established star player a disgruntled star whatever if you wanted to move him for you know a Donovan Mitchell or a Lori marinin or something like that then by all means because that’s the kind of swing trade that you make that that

Immediately launches you from being a play and hopeful to a more more than likely a playoff lock at that point or you would hope that that’s the kind of trade that launches you into that upper echelon of competition in the NBA so at least as it stands right now I

Mean for jayen to be moved like I we’ve talked about this before it doesn’t I’m kind of I’m kind of conflicted because I feel like I feel like this next stretch of like two weeks you know less than a little under two weeks whatever these next handful of games three four games

That the Rockets have are going to be really important because it’s kind of like it’s either a Jaylen green is auditioning and you know if he’s putting up these massive numbers is this good for the rockets and should they look to trade him while his value is at an

All-time high or is it something where you look at his new new found production you say no you know what we’re gonna we’re g to stand Pat on trading Jaylen green because we actually think this is something that we can build on long term me it’s actually I look at it from

The opposite View it’s pretty simple for me unless he’s viewed at a high level I don’t think this is the time that you trade him simply because I don’t think there’s anything he can do over the next week or two that would materially change his trade value because he’s had these

Stretches before now we can talk about how the recent highs have come with a slightly different shot formula a slightly different recipe for success as you put it and that’s true but around the league people are going to look at the season long numers and even if the

Rockets try and counter and say okay but look what he’s done the last couple of weeks he’s figured it out any astute GM is going to say okay well here’s a twoe stretch remember at the end of his rookie year we had that 30-point streak including a 40-point game the last six

Seven games at the end of the season we thought that was you know him just taking off and by year two he was going to be you know a 25 plus points per game scorer potentially on good efficiency we’ve seen these stretches before so even if the shot diet is a little bit

Different I don’t buy that that’s that it’s going to be enough for NBA teams to Value him at a much higher level so my personal opinion is that especially because even though we’ve talked a lot about this being potentially a contract extension offseason for him there’s not

That much downside in holding him until the 2025 offseason letting him go into restricted free agency which is you know comically tilted in the direction of teams with those players since they can match any offer and typically it leads to Friendly Deals for the team so for me

The upside is simply keeping Jaylen and trying to figure this out now with that said it does not surprise me that the Rockets would put out feelers simply because I say all of that to describe the league as a whole but all it takes is one team if one team for whatever

Reason really Buys in and we have had some great quotes from opposing coaches the last week for example you heard chony Bops go out of his way the Portland coach say he still believes that Jaylen could be a star we heard um Darvin ham refer to Jaylen as part of

The three-headed monster so who knows maybe there is one team one coach that really believes in Jaylen that’s all it takes and in that scenario if you are getting properly compensated you have to consider it because the Rockets are going to be approaching very soon a

Rotation Log Jam I think it’s clear at this point you have got to play cam Whitmore he is ready yet what’s going to happen when Char een comes back you’ve already bumped Aaron Holiday from the rotation pretty much I don’t think he played at all against the Lakers his

First EMP since I think the first week of the season so you’ve already bump one guy from the rotation just to make room for cam in a period where tar is out so what’s going to happen once tar comes back and you want to eventually get him

Up to 25 30 minutes per game now rather than Trey jayen my preference and my gut tells me that this is how it will work out you can trade a Jan Tate in the second year second to last year his contract or maybe even a Jeff Green if

You acquire a backup center in some other deal as we were talking about earlier and that’s much more manageable and you can sort of slide cam into your Rotation by doing that that’s how you can carve out the minutes but it is going to be difficult to give Cam what

He needs and so theoretically if some team was to Value Jaylen at a high level and make you an offer you can’t refuse and you know in the back of your mind if you’re were fell stone that cam is the truth he is legitimate and we’ve got to

Find a way to get him more minutes then yeah you would have to at least consider no matter what he shows cashing out on Jaylen green if you believe in cam as much or maybe even more you know you can certainly make that argument based on

What he’s shown you in recent games so I think with that in mind you can’t rule out a jayen trade it makes sense to at least leave the door open but I just think from a value perspective there’s much more upside to keeping him and hoping that you know

He’s truly found something here and simply moving a more moderate piece a guy like J shant or Jeff Green to clear those minutes for cam it’s just because cam is coming on I do think that whether it’s shayen or someone else and there’ll probably be someone else you do have to

Open the door to the Rockets perhaps being a seller because you are going to need to consolidate minutes and free up a rotation spot in some way because again it’s not easy you know cam had that great game against the Lakers he only played 18 minutes it’s tough to

Find those minutes consistently so even without T een it’s difficult so what happens when t comes back again my guess is something on a much smaller scale but you just can’t rule out a jayen trade and you know I know I’m sort of going in circles here because I let off by saying

I disagree with you and then sort of throwing out the caveat that that all it takes is one team that’s true but it’s just gun to my head I doubt that team is going to be out there to Value him at that level while possible I I just don’t

See it I think at what’s likely to be offered for Jaylen as a guy that for your three as a whole has still been underwhelming to me there’s much more upside simply by keeping Jaylen and seeing if he’s actually found something going into the back half of this year

And eventually a year or four you know yeah it’s it’s actually really funny because Madison made the argument the other day when we were kind of discussing like do you do you move Jaylen do you not whatever in in discussions for like would you trade Jaylen for like Quinton grames and I we

Both very firmly said no um but the reason we said NOS right because you look at jayen you’re like the the upside is still there right like if if he unlocks his actual potential right if he reaches even 60% of his potential he is a Far and Away better than player than

Than Quinton Grimes is because Quinton Grimes is what he he is what he is he’s a three and D Wing right um right so but for me I think the confidence comes from that the discussion we’ve already had which is the the the recipe feels like it’s changing or has changed and if

There’s a if there’s a higher floor there now for Jaylen to be successful uccessful in earlier arguments this season that I had against why Jaylen either should be benched or um you know moved to a six-man rle or whatever it was always because yes he’s made strides he’s improved as a Defender he’s

Improved as a playmaker he’s he’s improved in all these other areas but he’s still too far Far and Away too inconsistent as a scorer the one thing that he’s supposed to be able to do is supposed to be an alpha level scorer and if he is able to have now a floor

Version of himself where yes okay the shot might not be falling but he can still get you an efficient 18 to 20 points because he’s driving and getting downhill and attacking and finishing at The Rim changing Tempo getting to the free throw line if those things are

Permanent and here to stay then yeah maybe he’s never a superstar maybe he’s never even an Allstar but if that’s the player that you can get is a is a guy who is a downhill threat who can create for his teammates and defend at a decent level and rebound and use his

Athleticism and all these different things that we’re seeing over this small sample size then that is a guy that is absolutely worth keeping even if you know even if you keep him and maybe you do switch up his role later on whatever um you keep him you revisit the contract

You know extension discussions this off season and push comes to shove maybe then you just let him walk to restricted free agency right and he continues to ball out and maybe he does find a three-point shot next season and then he looks like the total package and some

Team runs along and wants to offer him the bag and guess what you match the contract because at that point yeah you gambled a little bit and maybe you lose out and now you’re paying top dollar for a guy that you could have gotten on a slightly more Team friendly deal had you

Extended him before his fourth season in the NBA but I think that’s a gamble that at this point with what you’ve seen from Jaylen green so far that you’re willing to take and if he makes it work and he makes you pay the price because you know

He actually found himself as a player and tapped into that stardom then awesome you live with that and you still got him locked down on a on a great deal and you don’t have to worry about losing him for nothing whatever I just I I’m glad that we have this kind of little

Resurgence from Jaylen green because if it if it hadn’t hit this little pocket of success before the trade deadline conversations were going to get really rough around Jaylen green going into the trade deadline of abely get get whatever you can for him cut bait while you can

He’s you know people people have been talking about oh is he approaching bus territory like all that I wasn’t quite there um and I’m glad that we’re seeing him like actually turn it around in what we think is a sustainable successful pattern yeah the other point that I

Think we should make is that it takes some humility to change your game and change your approach on the fly it takes some humility not to get down on yourself when the coaching staff puts together a montage which it sounds like they did of him not competing on the

Glass and so the fact that even as a former number two overall pick and I’m sure at various points he’s thought highly of himself and that’s part for the course with any highly drafted player in the NBA for him to have the humility to actually take these lessons

And learn from them and listen to what eeme udoka and the coaching staff are telling and showing him that shows you that he’s good he’s got a good head on his shoulders that he is still willing to listen and if you combine the athletic gifts with a willingness to

Explore new approaches and try different ways then there’s got to be something there it may take changing the formula to get there to get that higher floor version that we’ve been talking about but at this point you’ve got to consider it and obviously the organization needs

To be willing to do it not just think about the ceiling but also think about the floor but also requires the player to do it and it sounds like he’s in the right head space to try some new things and I think that speaks well to him and

Why you should consider again for me I would just frame a lot of this reporting the way it sounds like to me as due diligence everyone knows a couple things about the Rockets they do need some consolidation moves because eventually they need to play both cam Whitmore and

Amen Thompson more they are probably going to make be it this offseason next season the year after that they’re going to make a mega trade at some point and so they need to stockpile assets for that Rockets have never been afraid to bring in bigname players to Houston

We’ve heard various rumors as far as their targets Zion those types of names over the years and so you add all that together and yeah it’s easy to see with Jaylen and year three underwhelming a bit saying yeah maybe this is a guy that that they explore moving because it’s

Not like he’s playing at super high level all it takes is one team blah blah blah sure it’s possible and they do have an in-house replacement at cam Whitmore so it’s sort of like connecting the dots I do see I think a lot of people are

Just trying to I guess put two and two together and assuming that well because of these factors it makes sense for them to explore moving him and they need to consolidate the roster anyway I just think the bottom line is that when it comes to actually getting a deal done

There’s more upside from keeping Jen and seeing the upside that we’ve seen in the past week than what I think is likely to be there in those deals and for a team that needs more hymns to me the proper decision barring an extraordinary offer is to stay the course and gamble on

Jaylen’s Talent simply because I think the upside there is more than whatever they could hypothetically get in one of these traes jaylen’s got a good head on his shoulders from everybody that I’ve spoken to you know organizationally about him about the work that he puts in

The hours that he puts in outside of what we see you know at practice that you know early mornings long nights coming in and just working on a shot Dylan Brooks talked about this the other day postgame DL Brooks a guy who has you know is is very much a student of the

Game and very much Prides himself on on what he believes is you know basketball excellence and um a guy who is who follows a very strict kind of code of conduct as far as just how he conducts himself and the the uh kind of standards that he sets for himself and for his

Teammates so to receive that praise from Dylan Brooks right um you know jaylen’s he’s very he’s a very teachable kid and and that that’s never been in question and I do think that you know the Rockets coaching staff maybe their approach with him was a little wrong for the first

Half of the Season maybe it took them maybe that was a committed you know gesture from hey we’re going to try try it one way with you for like half the season and if that doesn’t work then we’re going to switch it up and we’re going to try doing some things

Differently um so seeing that adaptability on both sides both from the coaching staff perspective and from uh jaylen’s perspective him being able to adapt on the Fly is is that’s encouraging stuff to see so on that note if you feel let us know how you feel about Jaylen green at this point you

Know after this recent stretch of games do you think the rocket should sell high on Jaylen green do you think that they should hold on to him past the deadline and see if he’s really tapped into something new over this most recent stretch of games do you think the rocket

Should trade for Time Lord uh even though he’s not able to play this season if you’re watching if you’re listening let us know in the YouTube comments but Ben you know the drill let everybody know where they can track you down at yep Ben Duos at Twitter SLX the Rockets

Wire the logger line on the same and rockets. usatoday.com for all your daily Houston Rockets news coverage and especially over the next week week the trade deadline is a little over a week away Thursday February 8th we’re going to be doing daily roundups of all the

Rumors out there so in the days leading up to the trade deadline I would think that Sunday Monday of next week is when the talks really start to pick up and the rumors are really flying from reporters around the league your One-Stop shop for aggregation of that content Rockets wire. usatoday.com

That’s going to do it for another edition of lock on Rockets as always thank you so much for checking out the show if you haven’t done so yet please consider subscribing whether you’re listening to your podcast or on YouTube just search locked on Rockets be to like comment and subscribe but as always

Thank you so much for watching thank you so much for listening and we look forward to having you back right here at locked on Rockets your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets Basketball

New Houston Rockets Trade Rumors: Jalen Green Being Shopped? + Interest In Robert Williams

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) is joined by weekly cohost Rockets Wire Editor Ben DuBose (@BenDuBose) to discuss the newest Houston Rockets trade rumors, starting with the reported interest in Ime Udoka being reunited with his former Celtics center Robert Williams. what a deal could look like with the Portland Trailblazers to get it done, and if it makes sense or not, then the two dive into Jalen Green’s recent play, whether or not he’s turned a corner, and the trade rumors brought up on the most recent Zach Lowe podcast.

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