The Phoenix Suns have made Jalen Green available, according to Chris B. Haynes. The problem is that almost no teams in the league will be interested in taking on Green, simply because he is significantly overpaid. The former second overall pick is currently averaging 11.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.1 assists, shooting 41.9% from the field and 27.0% from beyond the arc, yet is currently making $36.2 million this season with an upcoming $36 million player option.
This is news for the LA Clippers, though, as they have some of the most projected cap space in the league and could easily haggle out an unprotected first by doing the Suns a favor and taking on Green’s contract.
Would it hurt to keep Green on the books for the rest of this season and likely next? Absolutely. But, for valuable draft compensation, the Clippers should go through with it.
The Suns might not mind sending a first to a team willing to add Jalen Green
The Phoenix Suns have their backs against the wall when it comes to Jalen Green. He is currently the second-highest-paid player on their roster, but he is playing nowhere near like it.
Looking a bit deeper into the numbers mentioned above, Green has shot under 35% from the field in six of his 11 games, turned the ball over three or more times in five of them, and made a total of six three-pointers on 23 attempts in November. Keep in mind, his only real strength is scoring.
If this wasn’t already bad enough, Green has the worst total +/- on the team (-102), the worst offensive rating at 107.3, and the second-worst defensive rating at 122.6, which puts him in position to have the worst net rating of -15.3 (min 10 mpg).
As Green is single-handedly costing the Suns games, there is plenty of reason to believe most teams will steer clear of him on the market.
As a result, the solution is to attach a first-round pick to him and send him to a team with financial flexibility, like the LA Clippers. It makes even more sense for LA due to the fact that they just lost a bunch of picks over the summer.
Then again, the plus-side to trading for Green is that he could find the version of himself he was on the Houston Rockets in a new environment. If he does, the Clippers would have a future All-Star on their hands.
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