Jalen Green Says He 'Had A Feeling' Rockets Would Trade Him amid Kevin Durant Deal

Former young Houston Rockets staple Jalen Green “had a feeling” he was on the trade chopping block — especially with Kevin Durant on the other side of the deal.

“Yeah, I had a feeling. They’ve been trying to trade me since last year,” Green told the Houston Chronicle's Danielle Lerner. “I’m not tripping. It’s for the better of the team. I know it’s a business at the end of the day. I really can’t handle how I feel. Whatever happens, happens. At the end of the day, I still got the opportunity to play basketball.”

The former No. 2 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Green was once considered the cornerstone of the Houston Rockets’ rebuild. But he admitted the team had been looking to trade him since last season — despite averaging 21 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.4 assists on 42.3 percent shooting from the field.

Green was sent to Phoenix alongside Dillon Brooks and more— in exchange for 15-time All-Star Durant.

Despite having explored trade options for Green for some time, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone admitted that the ultimate decision to pull the trigger was a difficult one.

“Jalen is awesome. He did everything we asked,” Stone said earlier this week, per Lerner. “He’s a wonderful combination of talent and work ethic, along with being just a great human being. And any time that you have the privilege to work with someone who is talented and works really hard and is really nice, you should value it. And so organizationally, we’ve valued him tremendously. So yeah, very hard.”

After departing from the only place he had known professionally since entering the NBA, Green heads to Phoenix with optimism about playing alongside Devin Booker and the rest of the Suns’ roster.

“I feel good. I’m excited,” Green said. “I think it’s gonna be lit. I bet he’s gon’ kill. … We gon’ shock the world.”