Houston Rockets' Jalen Green is saying all the right things

Most Houston Rockets fans want to believe in Jalen Green.

Some are growing tired. Belief can be tiring. How long as you supposed to keep the faith if you don't feel that you're getting sufficient signs?

Others are willing to invest in the flashes. Green has struggled throughout much of his NBA career, but at times, he's looked the player fans envisioned when the Rockets drafted him.

Doesn't that feel like yesterday? It wasn't. The Rockets selected Green with the second-overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. That means that he's already eligible for an extension. Unlike many of their draft classmates, Green and teammate Alperen Sengun haven't received their money.

For Green's part, he doesn't seem worried about it.

Green shows poise and maturity for Rockets

"My main focus is the season ahead of me with the players that we have, go to the playoffs, and go as far as we can. We’re building that team camaraderie, who we are. That’s the main focus right now, and everything will work itself out."

-Jalen Green

That was Green's response when asked if he was hoping to receive an extension. It's exactly what the Rockets want to hear. Say what you will about Green's performance, but he's consistently shown a high degree of character during his time with the Rockets.

As the kids say, Green understands the assignment. He knows that the more he can build on the potential he has demonstrated, the better the Rockets will perform, and the more likely he is to get paid.

After all, teams don't pay for character. They pay for production.

Is Green likely to produce in 2024-25?

This upcoming season is pivotal for Green

By now, you know how this goes.

Green legitimately looked like one of the best players in the NBA throughout March this year. Critics will counter that the Rockets' competition was weak. We already addressed that criticism. Even if you filter the competition down to playoff hopefuls, Green played like a star.

Other critics will point to the size of the sample. They will have a point. One month does not warrant a huge investment. If Green wants the big money, and he wants it in Houston, he has to deliver in 2024-25.

Green is a polarizing player. As with most polarizing issues, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. There's no logical reason to have quit on Green already. Last year, he was a third-year pro trying to navigate his first season in a structured environment with an objective to win basketball games.

Green is also a product of the now-defunct G-League Ignite. Why is the Ignite program defunct? We'd venture to guess that it hasn't proven to be an effective developmental environment.

So, the odds have been stacked against his trajectory. Still, we shouldn't delve too far into a nature vs nurture debate here. In the end, it doesn't matter why Green has been disappointing. If he doesn't change that trend, he shouldn't receive an extension.

On a related note: Green has been unequivocally disappointing. There's no reason to have abandoned hope, but unabashed faith would be misplaced as well. Rockets fans should be approaching Green with something between cautious optimism and open-minded pessimism:

No matter how much they want to believe in him.