The Phoenix Suns keep saying they believe in Jalen Green. The trade rumors keep saying otherwise, and the rumors have the better argument.
Green has been named a sneaky trade candidate heading into the 2026-27 season by Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, with the reasoning coming down to fit alongside Devin Booker in the backcourt. Phoenix has not indicated it is moving him. It also has not made the fit work.
The First Year Went Badly
Green’s opening campaign in Phoenix was derailed by a hamstring injury that started in training camp and followed him through the first half of the season. He played 32 games and averaged 17.8 points, his lowest scoring output since his rookie year.
A hamstring that lingers that long is not a minor issue for a player whose game is built on explosive straight-line drives. Green gets to the rim by being faster than everyone in a hurry. That does not work at 85 percent.
The Contract Is Actually Fine
Here is where the trade case gets complicated. Green will earn a $36 million base salary in 2026-27 with a cap hit of just over $36.2 million.
In the second-apron era, that number sits in a useful range. It is big enough to be a real salary-matching piece in a larger deal and small enough that a team acquiring him is not paralyzed. Contracts like that are the grease that makes NBA trades happen.
So Phoenix has an asset that is tradable regardless of whether it wants to trade him, which is exactly the condition that keeps rumors alive.
Two High-Volume Guards, One Ball
The basketball problem is simple. Booker is a high-usage scoring guard who needs the ball to be effective. Green is a high-usage scoring guard who needs the ball to be effective. Neither is an elite off-ball threat or a plus defender.
Teams have made versions of that work, usually by having one guard accept a reduced role. Booker is not accepting a reduced role in Phoenix. That leaves Green, who did not come to the Suns to be a complementary piece.
The Suns Should Move Him
The organization believes in the star-level upside, and the upside is real. Green is a legitimately gifted scorer who has not had a clean healthy season in this system.
But upside is not a plan, and Phoenix has spent several years collecting talent that does not fit together. The Suns added Collin Gillespie, Mark Williams and Jordan Goodwin on multiyear deals and brought in Miles Bridges and Luke Kennard this offseason. That is a roster being assembled around Booker.
Green’s value will never be higher than it is right now, coming off an injury year with a manageable contract and a reputation that still includes the phrase star potential. Trading him for a forward who can defend and shoot would make Phoenix better immediately.
Waiting another season to find out if the fit magically improves is how teams turn assets into salary.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.