The Houston Rockets saw one of their best season in half a decade end with a disappointing first-round exit after being eliminated by the Golden State Warriors in Game 7. Despite coming on the brink of overturning a 3-1 deficit, the Rockets ran out of offensive firepower down the stretch of the series and fell short of the Warriors.
After their first-round exit, many are expecting the Rockets to make moves to elevate their roster. A star-level offensive player would be great, but the franchise is reportedly cooling off a long-coveted target on that end.
The Athletic is reporting that Houston is no longer interested in acquiring Devin Booker, instead hoping that the younger Jalen Green steps up into a star role.
“The Rockets no longer have interest in trading for Devin Booker of the Phoenix Suns. Houston still has faith in current shooting guard Jalen Green. The Rockets guard is not only five years younger than Booker, but Green is also on the books for $66 million less salary over the next three seasons. In addition, the Rockets have concerns about Booker, after he struggled at points through last season.”
The Rockets should be proud of how they returned to the Playoffs after five years, but they won’t be happy with the result. This was their fifth playoff series loss to the Warriors in the last decade, as the four-time champion franchise set records with yet another series win over Houston.
But the series made Jalen Green’s potential playoff inadequacies evident, with the 23-year-old averaging 13.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 2.9 assists in his playoff debut.
They can bet on it improving, but Booker went to the NBA Finals in his first playoff appearance and averages 28.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.3 assists in the postseason.
Given how much the Phoenix Suns value Booker, it might be best to focus on other targets to protect their assets while finding similarly impactful players. But if the bet is to hope that Green improves, it’ll be a much riskier gamble but with a better reward.
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