KEY POINTS

  • Russell Westbrook and James Harden were teammates before with Jeff Green in OKC
  • The Houston Rockets have signed Jeff Green 
  • Jeff Green will serve as a crafty veteran for the Houston Rockets 

The Houston Rockets are pushing the envelope in terms of their unorthodox offense. With James Harden and Russell Westbrook leading the charge, the small-ball lineup of the Rockets is one of the more innovative strategies in the NBA. The average height of their starting lineup is six-foot-four with PJ Tucker as their center. Their tallest player in the starting role is Robert Covington who is listed at six-foot-seven.

The Rockets have decided to use their final remaining spots to pick up veteran forwards six-foot-six DeMarre Carroll and six-foot-eight Jeff Green.

This marks a reunion of the old Oklahoma City Thunder squad. The Seattle Supersonics drafted Green in 2007 as the fifth overall pick. He was one of the starters of that OKC team with Harden and Westbrook as the young rising stars of the league.

A decade later, Harden and Westbrook have now cemented themselves as one of the best players in the league. Both players were once the young players oozing with potential back in OKC. Now they’ve blossomed into superstars, tallying numbers and milestones never been seen before.

Green shared that his move to Houston is exciting, as he will get the chance to play with the two again. As tweeted by Mark Berman, Green showed a lot of positivity in the signing. “It’s going to be special to see those two guys, the way they’ve grown,” Green said.

Green adds an additional veteran presence to the Rockets squad. He has been part of big games before deep in the playoffs. He once scored 19 points and grabbed 8 rebounds against the Boston Celtics in game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals.

He has been through a lot in his NBA career as he brings so much more than physical toughness on the court. He’s a known fighter mentally and spiritually with the struggles he’s overcome. He was diagnosed with an aortic root aneurysm that required open-heart surgery. He has trumped what could have been a fatal incident and continues to bounce back from the adversity.

LeBron James and Jeff Green
LeBron James did not have an efficient performance but his teammates did step up in Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors. Pictured: LeBron James #23 of the Cleveland Cavaliers celebrates with Jeff Green #32 in overtime in Game One of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Toronto Raptors during the 2018 NBA Playoffs at Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Canada, May 1, 2018. Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images
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