Rockets and Suns traded, why did the Rockets not Shin Kyung do it?

Rockets and Suns traded a big deal, why did the Rockets not go to Shin Kyung? Su Qun commented and explained the reason!

In this year's NBA offseason, the Rockets and the Suns completed a heavy-duty deal in the shock league. The Rockets sent Jaylen Green, Dillon Brooks, the No. 10 pick in the first round of 2025 and five second round picks, and obtained superstar Kevin Durant from the Suns. This deal instantly became the focus of hot discussion among fans and the media, and one of the highly-watched questions is: Why did the Rockets send Green out of the deal but retain Shin Kyung? The famous basketball commentator Su Qun gave an in-depth interpretation on the show.

From the perspective of tactical system adaptation, Shin Kyung is the core of the Rockets' tactical, with the highest touch rate and pick-and-roll frequency in the team. He has excellent low-post skills and support capabilities, and can change the opponent's defensive formation. It is an extremely critical link in the Rockets' offensive system. In Uduka's tactical system, Shin Jing's role is irreplaceable. His pick-and-roll cooperation with Van Vleet and others is an important offensive method for the Rockets. Although Green is the team's number one main attacker and scoring leader, his ability to connect is relatively insufficient. The Suns' tactical system that is "outside-leading" requires scorers who can quickly integrate and plug and play. As a shooting guard, Green has singles explosive power and outside threats, and can fill the scoring vacancy after Durant left the team. This is one of the reasons why the Suns value him more.

Defensive level, Green's defense covers a large area, can defend more than 1-3 positions, and has good defensive enthusiasm. Under the Suns' offensive-oriented system, his defensive shortcomings will not be over-amplified, and can also alleviate the Suns' external defense pressure to a certain extent. In contrast, Shin Kyung, as an inside player, has poor defensive switching capabilities and is unable to effectively deal with the Suns' tactical needs mainly for outside shooting. The poor ability to shoot in the mid- and long-distance shots and insufficient inside confrontation also make him easily targeted on the defensive end.

contract factors are also something that cannot be ignored. Green's contract is 2+1 (2025-2027), which is relatively flexible and has a low annual salary, which is convenient for the Suns to conduct subsequent transactions or renewal operations. This is crucial for the Suns who are in the reconstruction stage and require flexible salary space and operation space. Shen Jing's contract situation is relatively complicated, and there may be problems such as high difficulty in trading and small operation space. Once injuries or poor performance occurs, it will be more difficult to trade.

From the perspective of team building planning, the Suns focus on cultivating young outside cores. Green's 23-year-old age and scoring potential are in line with the team's long-term plan of "taking young outside players as the core". Although Shin Kyung and Green are the same rookies, in the eyes of the Suns, Green's training value is greater and more in line with their needs to rebuild the team and train new players at this stage.

Su Qun also mentioned that the Rockets did not trade Shin Jing because of their own team development considerations. Shin Kyung has great growth potential. In the past seasons, he has been improving and gradually becoming the backbone of the team's inside line. The Rockets still hope to focus on Shin Kyung in the future and create a winning lineup with players such as Durant and Van Vleet. This transaction is a major move for the team's strategic direction adjustment for both the Rockets and Suns, and the stay and departure of Green and Shen Jing are behind the comprehensive game of many factors.