After a poor performance in the Houston Rockets' Game 7 loss to the Golden State Warriors, it would appear Jalen Green's future in Houston is in doubt. But it would not be if Lou Williams were making the decisions.

Williams, who played half of a season with the Rockets during his 17-year NBA career, acknowledged Green's struggles in the postseason, but then he made a very, very bold comparison.

“Granted, he did struggle in these playoffs,” Williams said of Green on ‘Run It Back'. “But it was his first introduction. Imagine if the Lakers turned their backs on Kobe [Bryant] when he played how he played against the Utah Jazz when he was such a young player. No, you go out there, you have your experiences, you have your ups and downs, you wipe yourself off, and you go in this summer, and you make your adjustments [on] how you can be a better basketball player. In this series, I think he learned that it's other ways to impact the game.”

The comparison will certainly appear almost blasphemous to some NBA fans, particularly Lakers fans. Bryant is one of the greatest and most popular NBA players of all time, having won five NBA championships, two Finals MVPs, and a league MVP.

Bryant, as Williams alluded to, did struggle early on in his career, however. In his first two playoff appearances (1997 and 1998), Bryant, then a teenage reserve, averaged less than 9 points a game and shot poorly from the field as the Lakers lost to the Utah Jazz both years.

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The Houston Rockets invested heavily into Fred VanVleet during the 2023 offseason. Houston gave the point guard a three-year, $128 million deal in a move that was meant to turn the Rockets from a rebuilding team into a championship contending one. The signing did just that, as the Rockets finished the 2024-25 regular season as the two-seed in a stacked Western Conference. VanVleet was the veteran presence and 3-point shooter that the team desperately needed, and he still might have a role with the Rockets going forward. Houston has a team option on his contract for next year, and they very well may pick it up. The Wichita State product reportedly wants to stay in Houston, but the point guard would be set to make over $44 million next season under his current contract. The Rockets and their guard recently pushed back the deadline on Houston's decision with VanVleet, and although reports suggest that they are interested in writing up a new, long-term deal, it isn't necessarily a guarantee that VanVleet will be playing for Houston next year. The Rockets blew him away with an offer he couldn't refuse back in 2023, and another team could so the same when/if he hits the open market this offseason. If VanVleet does become an unrestricted free agent, which teams outside of Houston would make the most sense for him to sign with? 1. Orlando Magic Jalen Suggs and Franz Wagner recently signed big deals with the Orlando Magic, and Paolo Banchero will be getting a mega contract extension here soon. Because of that, the Magic no longer have money to blow like they have had in recent years. That will make a deal for another big ticket free agent hard to pull off, especially considering the team signed Kentavious Caldwell-Pope last year. If Orlando can make the money work, though, then Fred VanVleet would be a great fit with the Magic. The Magic finished dead last in 3-point shooting this season, and VanVleet has made at least 2.5 deep balls per game in every season since 2018-19. VanVleet can hit shots form behind the arc off of the bounce or in catch-and-shoot situations. The Rockets were heavily reliant on his shooting expertise, so the guard would have plenty of familiarity getting up deep shots with high volume if he signed with the Magic. While undersized, VanVleet is a pesky defender, so he'd fit right in with a Magic team that has one of the best defensive units in the league. VanVleet could play alongside Suggs and give opposing teams fits. Ultimately, though, the Magic just need more shooting to get to the next level, and VanVleet is arguably the best shooter who could be available on the open market this offseason. 2. Brooklyn Nets A more realistic option for a VanVleet destination would be the Brooklyn Nets. The Nets are set up to have the most cap space this offseason, and they have a major need at point guard. With D'Angelo Russell and De'Anthony Melton hitting free agency this offseason, the Nets don't have a true point guard under contract for next season. Brooklyn needs to spend big this offseason, and they'd be smart to offer VanVleet a contract big enough that he'd have no choice but to leave Houston. VanVleet averaged 14.1 points per game last season, which was his lowest mark since 2018-19. He is trending the wrong way, but he still has enough left in the tank to give the Nets a few good seasons. 3. Portland Trail Blazers In the same way that the Rockets were looking to take the next step in 2023, the Portland Trail Blazers could use VanVleet's presence to get over the hump. The Trail Blazers have plenty of big man depth, as centers Deandre Ayton, Donovan Clingan, Robert Williams, and Duop Death are all under contract next season. Portland also has a lot of wing depth. Deni Advija started to look like a star late this past season, Toumani Camara is an elite defender, Shaedon Sharpe is a freakish athlete, and Jerami Grant is a proven scorer. The team is thinner in the backcourt, though. Anfernee Simons is a solid scorer, but Scoot Henderson has looked like a fringe draft bust since being drafted third overall. Portland shouldn't give up on Henderson completely, but there wouldn't be any harm in signing another guard. Like the Magic, the Blazers were one of the worst 3-point shooting teams in the NBA. VanVleet would improve that weakness, and in a stacked Western Conference, Portland needs all of the help they can get if they are to compete for a playoff spot.
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Once he turned 20, he began to turn it around, and alongside Shaquille O'Neal, led the Lakers to three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002. He then won two more in 2009 and 2010 while playing alongside Pau Gasol.

Green, 23, just completed his fourth NBA season and is set to make $105.3 million over the next three years. With his increased salary — it nearly triples from this season to next — and the Rockets failing to make it out of the first round as the No. 2 seed, it would seem logical that Houston would at least consider moving Green (along with others, most likely) in hopes of landing a star.

Still, Williams is advocating for the Rockets to stand by their young talent.

“There's not a lot of Jalen Greens just laying around anyways that you can up and move these guys,” Williams said. “I think that's the part of our league that we got to get better at. We're so impatient when we see these guys have struggles, that we just, boom, we're ready to move on from them. No, allow him to grow, allow him to learn and improve his game.”

The Rockets have been linked to Milwaukee Bucks superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo, who could ask for a trade this offseason after another first-round exit.