Jalen Green's future with the Houston Rockets is in jeopardy

The Houston Rockets have a lot of young talent. That's a good thing. Still, it could lead to some complications.

In time, they'll have to start sorting out their priorities. The Rockets have a surplus of young talent. Under Ime Udoka, the team operates as a meritocracy. There will be positional battles in 2024-25.

One of those battles will take place at the shooting guard position. When the Rockets selected Jalen Green with the second-overall pick, they hoped they were selecting their future franchise player.

Now, his future with the team seems to be in jeopardy.

Houston Rockets could replace Jalen Green

Don't believe everything you hear. Every rumor is not born equally.

On the other hand, it's been said that where there's smoke, there's fire. It is easy - too easy - to find articles suggesting that the Rockets may be cooling on Green.

More broadly, common sense dictates that they should be questioning him. Last year, Green averaged 19.6 points per game on a pedestrian 54.1 True Shooting % (TS%). This is not a player who is on a star trajectory.

Yes, we know. Green transformed into one of the best basketball players in the world during March. Yet, Green's inconsistency is part of the case against him. If the Rockets can only rely on him on a part-time basis, he's not a franchise-caliber player. If he can't consistently knock down an acceptable number of threes, his path to NBA stardom will be difficult.

Besides, the Rockets may have his replacement lined up.

Houston Rockets have another intriguing young guard

Summer League invites overreaction. It would be premature to say that Reed Sheppard is going to be the Rockets' long-term starting shooting guard.

Still, it's worth monitoring his rookie year - and Green's fourth year concurrently. If Green continues to struggle, and Sheppard has a strong rookie year, it may be time to make difficult decisions.

If Green builds on his March performance? Perfect. Sheppard may be able to run point. That would relegate Amen Thompson to a wing position, but in today's positionless game, the Rockets can still find playmaking reps for him.

Fans bristle when teammates are pitted against each other. That's understandable. Yet...teammates are pitted against each other. There's an unavoidable element of internal competition on an NBA team.

If Green falls behind the competition, he may be on another team by the 2024-25 trade deadline.