Rockets offered Jalen Green, draft picks to Nets for Mikal Bridges, but were turned down

of houston rockets reportedly provided brooklyn nets This blockbuster deal was supposed to send Mikal Bridges to Houston and send Jalen Green and a draft pick back to Brooklyn. According to NBA insider Shams Charania, the Nets turned down the offer at the trade deadline, and the two teams have been heading in opposite directions ever since.

The Rockets are currently the hottest team in the NBA, and Green’s rapid rise is fueling their rise. Houston returned to the Western Conference play-in race with eight straight wins. Green, 22, played at a superstar level during March, averaging 27.8 points per game on 51.4 percent shooting from the floor and 41.7 percent from three.

While the Rockets continue to climb up the standings in the West, the Nets are losing momentum in the East. Brooklyn has lost six straight games this week and is one of the worst teams in basketball coming out of the All-Star break.

With the James Harden trade starting in January 2021, Houston now has unprotected possession of Brooklyn’s 2024 first-round draft pick, so the Rockets and Nets will likely be in constant contact this year. As of now, Brooklyn’s pick going to the Rockets will likely be the No. 8 overall pick. Apply for the lottery.

According to Charania, Houston offered the Nets a package that included Green and several first-round picks. Here is his report:

Charania did not mention the pick the Rockets offered the Nets. Houston owns Brooklyn’s 2024 and 2026 first-round picks, as well as swap rights for 2025 and 2027. The Nets are still dealing with the aftermath of the disastrous “Big 3” era of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Harden. The deal likely would have been a way for Brooklyn to regain control of its future, but the team wasn’t willing to part with Bridges to make that happen.

The Nets’ rejection of this trade offer will have a huge impact on both teams.

The Rockets need to see if Green’s recent play is genuine.

Green had a very poor season before turning his game around in March. It’s probably no coincidence that Green has been on a roll lately after star center Alpelen Shengun was sidelined with a foot injury.

Green and Shengyun were both selected in the 2021 NBA Draft, with Green selected with the second pick and Shengyun with the 16th pick. That means both players are looking to extend their rookie contracts this summer, and only one of them can get a designated five-year extension.

Shengun has proven that he is clearly a better player this season. The 21-year-old big man was not selected as an NBA All-Star this season, but he would be a strong candidate for Most Improved Player. He is averaging 21.1 points, 9.3 rebounds and five assists per game this year, shooting 58.5 percent from the field. Shengyun’s development is a major reason why the Rockets were in position to compete for a play-in spot in the West despite winning just 42 games combined over the past two seasons.

Houston has been playing a more up-tempo style since Shengun’s injury, and Green has benefited from that. Green had a woefully inefficient season before making a remarkable turnaround in recent weeks. Here are some recent highlights from the Western Conference Player of the Week.

The fact that the Rockets continue to win while Green plays so well gives further credence to the validity of his strong winning streak. At the same time, this also happens during parts of the regular season schedule when teams are tired and focused on other goals. Teams at the bottom of the standings are starting to struggle for a better draw position. Teams in playoff contention are starting to rest their starters for the long haul.

There is a scenario in which the Rockets end up re-signing both Green and Shengyun, but that would cost them a significant portion of their salary cap. How Houston handles contract extensions for talented young players will be an interesting subplot this summer and beyond.

The Nets defeated the Rockets by declining their offer.

Is there a more delusional team in the NBA than the Nets? If Charania’s report is accurate, that may not be the case.

Brooklyn has some great role players, but they don’t have a true star to spice things up. The team thought Bridges would be that player after his hot play in March last season, but his on-ball role has regressed this year. He looks like the type of player who could make a star addition with his 3-and-D skill set, but he’s not a player who can lead a team on his own.

This would have been a surprising deal for the Nets, especially if they brought back a 2024 draft pick, but this is a reasonable assumption. Brooklyn was able to acquire a ton of draft picks from the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks when it traded Durant and Irving, but it’s still difficult to rebuild when you don’t own your own picks.

Trading Harden was the worst thing that ever happened to the Nets. Houston offered Brooklyn a big “get out of jail free” card in exchange for Bridges, but the Nets still refused. Without great hope for the immediate future, the Nets aren’t going anywhere fast. Acquiring a talent like Green and controlling his assets would have certainly set Brooklyn up for a promising rebuild. They opted to pursue a play-in tournament instead, which was a spectacular failure.

Will the Nets and Rockets revisit this trade in the offseason? Will Houston still do it? Either way, it feels like a huge missed opportunity for the Nets.