Mikal Bridges Trade Rumors: Rockets Were Willing to Offer Jalen Green for Nets Star

The Houston Rockets were prepared to give up guard Jalen Green in a trade for a veteran upgrade, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.

Fischer reported Monday that Brooklyn Nets star Mikal Bridges was one such target, and Houston's interest "reached most corners of the league the weekend" prior to the team's acquisition of center Steven Adams.

"Rival front offices were abuzz about the Rockets' willingness to include [Green] in packages for Bridges and other marquee wing," he added.

The Rockets had little to show from the rebuild they began early into the 2020-21 season after trading James Harden. They went 17-55 that year before winning 42 combined games over the next two seasons.

Between hiring Ime Udoka as head coach and committing $214.5 million total to Fred VanVleet and Dillion Brooks, the front office and ownership were clearly desperate to make more tangible progress.

Fischer said the Rockets reinforced that perception by indicating they might be willing to trade Green. By only executing a more marginal deal for Adams, however, they're leading rival teams to believe they're adopting a more moderate approach.

"So it seems more appropriate to categorize Houston as eager to be opportunistic when it comes to improving its roster, as opposed to shifting into a higher gear altogether," Fischer wrote.

Bridges would obviously be a significant upgrade on the wing over Green. While Green is making strides on defense, Bridges is a better shooter (37.5 percent on threes for his career) and a proven commodity in the playoffs.

The 27-year-old will hit free agency in 2026, though, and that wouldn't give Houston a lot of time to make the kind of leap that would warrant such a massive trade.

Green isn't going anywhere and the Rockets still have plenty of draft capital at their disposal. Seeing what this roster can achieve over a full season is a sensible strategy before they potentially take a big swing on a trade in the offseason.