An hour before the Kevin Durant trade was announced, The Athletic reports that Jalen Green received word from the Rockets that he was in the deal.

So Houston loses Jalen Green, whom it promptly replaces with Reed Sheppard. It loses the No. 10 pick in this upcoming draft, but remember, it was too deep this past season for the aforementioned Sheppard, the No. 3 pick in the 2024 draft, to even be a consistent rotation player, so where were the minutes going to come from for another lottery pick?

Houston chased playoff readiness, not player patience, as their former first-round pick now heads to the desert.