Jalen Green Eyed as Trade Candidate in New NBA Rumors amid Suns' Early-Season Struggles

Amid a 5-6 start to the season, the Phoenix Suns could look to shake things up in an effort to turn things around with Jalen Green's future in the desert a hot topic of discussion throughout the NBA.

Per The Athletic's Sam Amick, the belief from opposing clubs is the Suns are "motivated" to trade Green for a proven point guard who can run the offense for head coach Jordan Ott.

Amick cited one person with the Suns as insisting they will "remain patient" with their roster and don't plan to engage in any serious trade discussions until later in the season.

Green was acquired by the Suns from the Houston Rockets in the Kevin Durant trade with the hope he could develop into a strong second option next to Devin Booker.

The No. 2 pick in the 2021 NBA draft, Green was only 23 at the time of the trade and averaged 21.0 points during the 2024-25 season with the Rockets. Hamstring and knee injuries limited him to just 32 games in his first year with Phoenix.

Green has started all 11 games the Suns have played so far this season, but his output is way down. He is averaging a career-low 11.8 points per game on 41.9 percent shooting (27.0 percent from three).

It's unclear how much interest there would be in Green if he were made available due to his contract. The 24-year-old is making $36.2 million this season and holds a $36 million player option for 2027-28.

Scoring efficiency has never been a strength of Green's game. His best field-goal percentage was 42.6 percent as a rookie and he has only shot better at 35 percent from three once (35.4 in 2024-25).

The Suns have the 12th-worst net rating in the NBA right now. One encouraging sign is they have won four of their last five games, including a victory over the Rockets on Nov. 7.