3 Young players the Houston Rockets should develop, 2 to give up on

It's been three seasons since the Houston Rockets last made an appearance in the NBA Playoffs. Right at the beginning of the 2020-21 season, star guard James Harden forced his way out of town and then the team's rebuild began.

Since then, the Rockets have been able to acquire a plethora of young talent. They're entering the 2023-24 season with the seventh-youngest roster in the NBA, as their average age is 24.4 years old.

However, it feels like the youth movement in Houston could be coming to a close. General Manager Rafael Stone and the front office got busy this summer, landing both Fred VanVleet and Dillion Brooks as free agents. Months before, he revealed that he feels the team is approaching the end of the rebuild's "first stage."

“I think we’re kind of coming to the end of the first stage of it,” Stone told ESPN's Andrew Lopez back in April . “When my group took over, we didn’t have draft picks and we didn’t have cap space. We had a team that was kind of singularly built. It was built to play a single style of play based around kind of a generational talent. And so we kind of felt like we had the right set that starting at the bottom floor.”

So, as the Rockets move into "stage two," they may have some tough decisions to make in regards to which young players will be a part of their future and which will not.

Of course, Houston's two first-rounders from this year's draft -- Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore -- are safe. We'll just focus on the returning players from last season's roster.

Kevin Porter Jr.'s time with the Houston Rockets should be dwindling

When thinking of players who won't be around as the Rockets try and launch back into contention, Kevin Porter Jr. is one of the first that comes to mind.

The 23-year-old guard has spent the past three seasons in Houston -- all three of which have ended with the Rockets being amongst the league's worst.

Is that Porter Jr.'s fault? No, not really.

But he hasn't proven to be much of a winning player throughout his young career.

Again, it's not like the Rockets have been a fun young-team that's been in the mix for a spot in the Play-In Tournament. They've won a total of just 59 games during Porter Jr.'s tenure in Houston.

With the signing of VanVleet and the selection of Thompson -- both point guards -- there just doesn't seem to be room for the Seattle native in Houston's future plans. Plus, he's entering the first season of a four year, $63.4 million contract-extension.

The deal is only guaranteed for this season. Next year's salary is only partially-guaranteed with the remaining two non-guaranteed.

The Houston Rockets should continue to tap into Jabari Smith Jr.'s potential

In the 2022 NBA Draft, the Houston Rockets selected Jabari Smith Jr. third overall out of Auburn. In his rookie season, Smith Jr. struggled to find his footing in the league, averaging just 12.8 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game while shooting just 40.8% from the field and 30.7% from beyond the arc.

Despite his awkward transition to the NBA, the young wing was still selected to the All-Rookie second team. Smith Jr. took a bit of a jump in the back half of the season, scoring 14.6 points per game on 44.6% shooting overall, after the All-Star break.

He continued his upward momentum in the NBA Summer League in July. The 20-year-old suited up in two games for the Rockets in Las Vegas and absolutely balled out.

He averaged 35.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 4.0 assists per contest, turning heads of fans all over the country.

On top of Smith Jr.'s positive trend in play, he's got a six-ten frame that gives him plenty of potential to be a force on both ends of the floor. As he continues to develop his body, he'll become more and more versatile as a defender, which is a priceless trait in today's NBA.

All of these ingredients will likely help Houston cook up a competitive team for year's to come.

Alperen Şengün can be a centerpiece for the Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have the foundation to build one of the league's most dynamic frontcourts with Jabari Smtih Jr. and Alperen Şengün. The Turkish big man has impressed in his first two seasons with the Rockets, even taking a jump in year two.

His scoring average saw a significant increase, jumping up five points compared to his rookie year.
Şengün averaged 14.8 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 3.9 assists over the course of 75 appearances in 2022-23.

The 21-year-old has displayed an impressive sense of the game so far as well. He's been able to excel as a facilitator with the Rockets, which is an important skill to have as the roster continues to improve.

Big men with the ability to set up their teammates have become a sought-after breed in the league in its current form. Players like Nikola Jokic, Domantas Sabonis, and Al Horford have become great examples of how that skill can impact winning.

Jokic just led the Denver Nuggets to their first NBA Championship, Sabonis helped the Sacramento Kings snap a 16-year playoff drought, and Horford has been a staple in a successful Boston Celtics team ((except for those two seasons when he left).

Şengün has the potential to impact the Rockets in a similar way, as they look to take a jump in the next year or two.

Now is the time for the Houston Rockets to give up on Jalen Green

This may be the most controversial choice on this list, but it makes sense for the Houston Rockets to move on from Jalen Green. The former No. 2 overall pick has spent two seasons on extremely-poor Rockets teams (much like the others on this list).

The difference between him and the rest -- besides Kevin Porter Jr. -- is that he's had a major scoring role. Green was the team's leading scorer last year, as they clawed their way to a 22-win campaign.

His numbers didn't improve after a decent rookie-season, where he averaged 17.4 points per game while shooting 42.6% from the field and 34.2% from distance. The output increased by about five points in the 21-year-old's sophomore year, but his efficiency took a hit. Green's shooting splits dropped to 41.6% overall and 33.8% from beyond the arc.

Green can get a little bit of a break because of the sheer dysfunction that was the Rockets' offense last year, but the lack of increase in effectiveness is concerning.

With that being said, Green is still young enough where Houston could flip him for an established player as part of a trade. Again, Rafael Stone believes that his team is done with the first stage of their rebuild.

It's time to start competing.

Combining Green's contract with Porter Jr's and perhaps Dillion Brooks', the Rockets may be able to convince a downward trending team to give them some extra help via trade.

Maybe the Los Angeles Clippers would send Paul George to Houston in exchange for the young-guard duo and Brooks? Just a thought.

Tari Eason may be a great foundational piece as the Houston Rockets ascend

Tari Eason had himself a quality rookie-season for the Houston Rockets last year. He found his way onto the NBA's All-Rookie second team after averaging 9.3 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 1.1 assists per game.

Much like his draft-classmate -- Jabari Smith Jr. -- Eason showed out in the NBA Summer League. In just two games, he averaged 23.0 points, 9.5 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 blocks per contest.

Ben Sullivan, who was in charge of Houston's summer squad, had some strong words about Eason and his work ethic.

"Jabari and Tari were great leaders for us," Sullivan told The Athletic's Kelly Iko. "They worked hard, they tried to execute everything, they were unselfish, they competed, they guarded.

They did everything that we asked them to do and they did a pretty high level. And you can tell when it’s a second-year guy over a first-year guy (because) the concepts of what we’re trying to do and the NBA game isn’t entirely new to them.

So they’re able to pick up things a little bit quicker, able to do a little bit more on the fly. Definitely leaned on them to lead us in that way of what we were trying to do."

Eason is the type of player that is ready to fill a smaller role on a successful team. He doesn't need the ball all of the time in order to be effective, and can impact the game on both ends of the floor.

The 22-year-old could find himself playing a fair amount of minutes next season under new head coach Ime Udoka.