Filipino-American high flier Jalen Green had always dreamed of leading the Houston Rockets back to prominence.
However, as he was traded to the Phoenix Suns this offseason, he understood that the business of basketball meant new opportunities.
In a farewell message to the city that saw him grow from an untested rookie to a key part of a young and promising team, Green reflected on his time in Houston and the trade that brought two-time champion Kevin Durant to the Rockets.
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“Listen, nobody likes to get traded. But I can honestly say that I get it, bro. This is a business, and if I were up there in the executive chair, I probably would’ve made the deal too. I think it’s a better situation for both sides,” Green wrote in The Players Tribune.
“I really came here at 19 years old still eating Skittles before games, and I’m leaving here as a father. It’s been a time, y’all.”@JalenGreen says goodbye to the @HoustonRockets.
— The Players’ Tribune (@PlayersTribune) July 23, 2025
The 23-year-old expressed excitement about landing in Phoenix, describing it as a team “who wants me to be me,” alongside teaming up with multi-time All-Star Devin Booker.
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“It’s another opportunity to build a winning culture. Another opportunity to show people how deep my love for this game really is. So I’ll miss Houston and all my guys down there, but I’m smiling, man.”
Green’s departure from the Rockets marked the end of a four-year chapter, one that was as much about personal growth as it was about team development.
Drafted second overall in the 2021 NBA Draft, Green quickly became the face of Houston’s rebuilding effort, a central figure tasked with leading the team out of the doldrums.
The Rockets made its first playoff appearance since 2020 after finishing second in a loaded West with a 52-30 record. They eventually fell in a grueling seven-game series to the veteran-laden Golden State Warriors, but that series exposed the team’s lack of a go-to scorer.
Enter Durant, whom the Rockets acquired in a trade that sent Green and Dillon Brooks to the Phoenix Suns.
Yet, even as Green embraces this new chapter with the Suns, he’s not forgetting the lessons learned in Houston, especially from veteran Fred VanVleet, whose arrival helped bring a winning mentality to a franchise that hadn’t known success in some time.
“We had our young core, but we also had vets like Fred VanVleet, guys who had really won in this league, showing us the way,” Green recalled.
He even shared an anecdote from a game in which he was on a hot streak, hitting three straight shots early in the contest. But when he passed up a shot the next time down the floor, VanVleet let him know that he should keep shooting.
Across 307 career games with the Rockets, Green averaged 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.
