Zach Lowe warns that Jaylen Green could be the NBA’s next cautionary tale

Jalen Green enters a new chapter in his NBA career with Phoenix Sunsbut there are still plenty of questions for Green to answer as he joins his second team.

The second overall pick in the 2021 draft, Green has dazzled at times with his scoring and athleticism. But in a league that values ​​efficiency, Green, a below-average to average 3-point shooter and turnover-prone guard, has a difficult place to fit. And that could be a lesson for NBA scouts and even highly respected members of the media like Zach Lowe.

“Jalen Green could be a cautionary tale for me five years from now, where I have to remind myself, even though I’m already cognitively aware of it, that you can’t get too carried away with the athleticism and assume that the decision-making will catch up. Because the tools, you see, there’s a reason why he’s the number two, and you’re picking him in the draft, and you’re looking at him in the draft. N.%. And when you put him against another NBA athlete, even if is a little better, not huge. And because they’re all great athletes, shaky decision-making kind of undoes a lot of it,” Lowe said on “The Zach Love Show.”

“I’m still intrigued enough that I don’t mind his contract. I don’t mind the Suns taking a shot at him. I don’t like him being Booker. I don’t like the fact that when I tackle Booker, I don’t trust anybody to handle the ball very much. . . .”

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Green signed a three-year, $105.3 million contract with the Houston Rockets exactly one year ago today. After signing, Green had by far the best season of his career, averaging 21 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and a steal per game while shooting 42% from the field and a career-high 35% from the three-point line and 81% from the free throw line. However, when The Rockets had a chance to add Kevin Durant, they didn’t hesitate to trade Green to Phoenix to acquire the former league MVP.

Green is expected to start with the Suns hinterland next to Bookerwho averaged a record 7.1 assists last season. However, the pairing’s debut will have to wait, as Green will miss the season opener and maybe more with a tendon injury. Suns coach Jordan Ott said Green he didn’t have “live play” after Monday’s practice and that with “those soft tissues you don’t know exactly where he is.”

Phoenix opens the season tomorrow at home against the Sacramento Kings.