The pressure is on Jalen Green to prove he can produce for the Phoenix Suns this coming season, and the franchise better hope that he does, as they will not be able to trade him for the foreseeable future. If the Suns were to entertain training Green right now, his market would be far from robust. Barring a bounce-back performance, Green isn't going anywhere.
Market for Green is dry until he can regain form
Green will begin the season starting alongside Devin Booker, which is a bad place to be to showcase his skills. The fit between the two has been clunky, and until he can go off on a nightly basis for a prolonged period of time while the Suns win games (which is Booker's role here), Green is going to generate little interest.
The 24-year-old also played a career-low 32 games for the franchise as a result of a persistent hamstring issue last time out, so Green also has to show he is durable enough for another team to be interested in trading for him.
The addition of Miles Bridges complicates the picture further, as he is in the final year of his current deal and will be looking for an extension in Phoenix. Like Green, he can be a high-usage player, but he also has the benefit of being one of the better-scoring forwards in the league today.
The Suns could attempt to bring Green off the bench to better showcase what he can do with the second unit, but that is a double-edged sword. He might regain some form and give opponents 20 a night, but in doing so, his stock won't rise to the levels desired, as this would prove he is better off the bench as a microwave scorer.
Dillon Brooks the silver lining that can make selling low on Green ok
There is still a positive way Phoenix can spin what is their biggest roster issue right now, and it means accepting that they will take a loss by trading Green away.
Having him as their sixth man and getting a couple of picks or another distressed asset back would hurt when you consider they gave up Kevin Durant to acquire him, but the addition of Dillon Brooks (and Khaman Maluach) saves that trade from being a complete disaster.
They got their long-term guy, who also helped reset the culture in The Valley; it just wasn't Green, like many predicted it would be. The Suns are stuck with Green until around the trade deadline at least, when a team desperate to add more talent will likely talk themselves into his services.
Until then, expect streaky shooting next to Booker, and if he is brought off the bench, an uptick in performance that is not reflected in the eventual package to land him.
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