The Jalen Green Dilemma: Do the Houston Rockets Move On This Summer?

The general reputation surrounding an NBA player doesn't reach full fruition until he gets to the postseason in front of a national or even global audience. As much as there are die-hard basketball fans who know everything about every team, the casual hoops watcher will really only get the narrative of a player in the postseason when everyone is watching.

That means the general narrative surrounding Jalen Green is in a tough spot. And it isn't just the casual fans who believe this.

Green was mostly given a pass for his inconsistencies during his first few seasons with the Houston Rockets. The 23-year-old has always been a one-dimensional player, and while he's a good scorer, he isn't great.

Green averaged 21 points this past season, but shot 42.3% from the field and 35.4% from three. He has yet to shoot over 43% from the field and 36% from three in his career, and we just wrapped up year four. That should be alarming if you're the Rockets.

Houston took a major leap in its rebuild, snatching the second seed in the West at 52-30, so Green's struggles were mitigated in the eyes of the public. He did display some elite scoring stretches, including averaging 25.7 points on 47-43-89 shooting splits throughout January of this year. It just didn't stay consistent.

The playoffs were perhaps the lowest point of the guard's early NBA career. Aside from a 38-point outburst in Game 2 of the first round, Green failed to put up over 12 points in any other game, and couldn't crack 37.5% shooting from the field. Games 1, 3, 4, and 7 saw single-digit performances.