Jalen Green finishing as the runner-up on our list of Suns with the most to prove this season feels apt, as he may end up being exactly that by the end of this coming season.
Green needs to play like a former second overall pick
The sometimes explosive scorer was supposed to be the best player the Suns got back in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets. Instead, he may end up being the worst. Dillon Brooks has become the emotional heartbeat and has already earned an extension, while Khaman Maluach may be the long-term solution at the center position for the franchise.
That leaves Green with serious work to do in order to prove he is not a bust after being selected so high by the Rockets.
Unfortunately, his skills overlap somewhat with Devin Booker, while the arrival of Miles Bridges (looking for his own extension and fond of holding onto the ball) complicates the picture even further. Green is the worst defender in the Suns’ starting five, a fact that could see either Collin Gillespie or Jordan Goodwin (watch this space) take his starting berth before long. Both are true point guards and so make more sense next to Booker as well.
Coming off the bench as a turbo-charged sixth man may well be where Green’s career ends up, but it happening this season would be a massive disappointment. In a different set of circumstances, that would be an ideal outcome for a Suns team trying to build a contender.
To have it happen in 2026-27, although it may answer some of the Suns’ questions about fit, would only prove Green will never be one of this team’s best and most important offensive players.
Green must remain healthy or risk being dumped
Last season was the first in which Green dealt with a persistent injury in the form of a hamstring issue, and if that flares up again, it could be curtains for his time in Phoenix. The franchise may want to cut their ties with him while he still has some value, while dropping out of the starting lineup as a result of being on the treatment table could see him never get that spot back.
This would have a long-term impact on Green’s career to the point that he would never get paid huge money by another organization again, sending him to that sixth-man role much earlier than anticipated.
There is an elite scorer in there; it is just packaged in an at-times explosive guard who has a habit of trying to do a bit too much himself and who is easily pushed around by bigger defenders. There has never been more pressure on Green to succeed.
There never will be either, this is his make or break year in the NBA.
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