Should the Houston Rockets be interested in Jeff Green?

The Houston Rockets are lacking depth and are looking for players to add to their bench. Could Jeff Gr3en be the answer?

The Houston Rockets are facing a shortage of bench contributors this season, which has especially been an issue with the injuries to Gerald Green and Eric Gordon. The Rockets have found luck with the play of Ben McLemore, who has averaged 10.4 points per game this season on 36.4 percent from 3-point range.

But the Rockets will obviously need more options besides McLemore if they want to be able to rest James Harden and P.J. Tucker, which will be important down the stretch to keep them fresh for the postseason. Should the Rockets turn to a former teammate of Russell Westbrook and James Harden?

Utah is waiving forward Jeff Green, league sources tell me and @Tjonesonthenba.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 24, 2019

If we were basing this decision solely on Jeff Green’s play this season with the Utah Jazz then many would likely say the Rockets shouldn’t want Green. But the reality is he’s playing the fewest minutes of his career, which surely can disrupt the ability to get in a rhythm. It’s obvious that Green still has alot left in the tank as he had a true shooting percentage of 60.8 percent just last year when he was a member of the Washington Wizards.

Green is also a career 13 point scorer in addition to a career 33.3 percent shooter from downtown, which would likely improve alongside Russell Westbrook and James Harden. To that point, Green played with the Oklahoma City Thunder for three full seasons, including when they were initially the Seattle Supersonics, but was traded away during his fourth year with the organization.

During that span, Green played three years alongside Russell Westbrook and two years with James Harden and actually had his best seasons alongside the two Houston Rockets’ guards. Green averaged 15.6 points and 6.1 rebounds per game after the arrival of Westbrook up until the point in which he was traded to the Boston Celtics during the 2010-11 season.

With Green’s 6-foot-8 inch frame, he would bring much needed size to the Rockets roster which is lacking bigs. In addition, Green brings a veteran presence who has deep playoff experience. If you recall, Green was a member of the Cleveland Cavaliers during the 2017-18 season in which they made it to the NBA Finals.

Green also can contribute on the defensive end on the floor as well, which is evident in his current defensive rating of allowing 108 points per 100 possessions, which was tied for fourth-best on the Jazz this season. That would actually be tied for a team-best on the Rockets this season, which further illustrates the need for the Rockets to pick him up.

We’ll have to see whether the Rockets make a move for Green but it’s blatantly obvious that the Rockets need him. He could surely help the Rockets’ lack of depth and bench scoring.