The anticipation for Jalen Green to return for the Phoenix Suns is reaching fever pitch in The Valley. Which is no surprise given what a fun and explosive scorer he can be.
Although the thinking prior to the season starting was that the franchise might try and move on from Green right away after acquiring him in the Kevin Durant trade, that couldn't be further from the truth.
Suns seemingly shut down Milwaukee Bucks' advanced for Green
Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints took to social media as trade deadline chatter picks up, and with Trae Young now off the board, to confirm that Green is a player Milwaukee has looked at to improve the roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Suns guard Jalen Green is among the many players the Bucks have recently discussed as a potental trade option, league sources told @ClutchPoints.
— Brett Siegel (@BrettSiegelNBA) January 7, 2026
However, the Suns have made it clear Green is not available.
More on the Bucks and this year's trade deadline: https://t.co/MOKd85Nxaa
According to Siegel, and it should come as no surprise, Phoenix is currently not interest in moving a player who has played barely a half hour of competitive basketball for them this season.
It is not hard to see why, as there are not many scenarios where doing so can backfire on them. If you have the most optimistic outlook, then Green is going to return from his hamstring issue and take a team that has already over-performed massively and move them up another level.
They're a top 10 group defensively and in 3-pointers made and adding Green for somebody like Royce O'Neale (or Grayson Allen) appears to be a straightforward swap and obvious upgrade.
That would mean Dillon Brooks changing his role some to accommodate his former teammate in Houston, but there's nothing the Canadian can't do right now.
But even if Green ends up not fitting with the long-term vision of head coach Jordan Ott here, at 23-years-old they are guaranteed to find another suitor for him if they decide to go in that direction.
The Bucks have already seemingly talked themselves into him as an upgrade despite barely seeing him this season, and pure scorers are always in demand throughout the league.
Yes Green had a rough first playoff outing versus the Golden State Warriors with the Rockets last season, but he also had 38 points in a win in that series.
The list of guys who can consistently do that in the league is short, and although Green isn't a part of that group yet, he's got time on his side. Other organizations know that and can easily talk themselves into believing the best is yet to come with him.
So doing nothing and waiting until the summer to evaluate everything looks like both the obvious and smart strategy here. Green is rightly going nowhere.