4 Questions the Rockets need to answer before the trade deadline

It doesn't seem likely that the Houston Rockets will make a blockbuster deal this summer.

For some time, it felt like a foregone conclusion. The Rockets were linked to - well, just about everyone with a pulse. If there was a faint whiff of a star player's availability, a Rockets trade rumor was nearby.

Now, it's evident that nobody significant will be available - for now, anyway. By this year's trade deadline, the market will have evolved again.

Could the Rockets be major players in that market? It's possible. This team has some questions to answer before the deadline.

Here are four of them.

1. Who is the real Jalen Green?

You know how this goes.

In March, Green averaged 27.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game. He was electrifying. At times, it seemed Green had finally learned how to leverage his other-worldly first step and vertical leap into consistent production.

Yet, a month of NBA basketball is a marginal sample size. On the entire season, Green averaged 19.6 points per game with a pedestrian 54.1 True Shooting % (TS%). That inefficiency has marred his career throughout three years in the NBA so far.

Is Green a star? Is he a sixth man? The first half of 2024-25 is critical for Green. If he doesn't look like a cornerstone, the Rockets are likely to attempt to move him before they have to extend him.

Could anyone be holding him back?