Suns guard Jalen Green has been upgraded to probable for Thursday’s matchup against the Clippers, writes AZ Central’s Duane Rankin (Twitter link). If he is able to suit up, it would mark both his season and Suns debut.
Green came over to Phoenix in the trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Rockets and was expected to be a major part of the Suns’ new-look offense, but a right hamstring strain has kept him on the sidelines since early in training camp.
He missed all of training camp as well as the first eight games of the season, in which time the Suns went 3-5. First-year head coach Jordan Ott has experimented with different starting lineups while Green and fellow former Rocket Dillon Brooks have been out with injury, but Green’s return should help provide stability to the team’s backcourt rotation.
The fifth-year shooting guard holds career averages of 20.1 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists in 307 career regular-season games, but he struggled with consistency in terms of shot selection and defensive focus. He spoke this summer about his excitement regarding playing off of Devin Booker, with whom he believes he can form a two-headed scoring and playmaking attack.
The Suns will still have to wait to see their team at full strength, as Dillon Brooks remains out with the core muscle strain that has caused him to miss the last five games.