Should Rockets Trade Alperen Şengün? Millionaire Sports Mogul Raises Summer Concern For Houston’s 21YO Sensation

The Houston Rockets have lit up the playoff fever with their recent dominant stretch. After an underwhelming run this season, the H-Town produced a hot streak by winning 9 games in a row. Importantly, the team managed to pull this off in the absence of star center, Alperen Sengun. The 22-year-old Jalen Green pressed the gas and anchored the team’s dream run to give playoff hopes. In the meantime, it left the sports commentators with a question: Should the Rockets continue to back Sengun?

The 21-year-old Turkish baller turned into a player to watch out for with his physicality, dominance near the rim, and ability to score. However, Sengun’s prowess didn’t produce the current hot streak. It was Green’s athleticism and shooting prowess that brought them this far. Addressing the situation, Bill Simmons, the millionaire sports host, made a shocking trade pitch in the latest episode of The Bill Simmons Podcast. He put forward a question to the Rockets’ GM to take this decision in the coming off-season.

“You would have said he [Sengun] is the best asset on the team… Love this guy. But the team kinda falls in the place since he goes away in some ways. I mean you think like, if we were GM conciliator for the Rockets… ‘[we’d say] Hey man, do you think we should swap Sengun this summer? I think I say, let’s think this out,” Bill Simmons remarks.

Alperen Sengun had his breakout season this year, averaging 21.1 points with 9.3 rebounds per game. These stats easily made him the most valuable asset in the Rockets roster. Unfortunately, he was taken off the court in a wheelchair with an ankle injury on March 10. At that time, they were nowhere closer to making it to the playoffs and now they are just a game away from pulling down the Warriors from the 10th sport.

As the Rockets managed to produce this magic without their cherished asset, Simmons plunged forward with the trade talk. However, the millionaire’s co-host, Ryen Russillo, compared the situation with Donovan Mitchell-less Cleveland Cavaliers. Evan Mobley managed to produce something similar to Jalen Green, but it didn’t last long.

So before concluding, the duo decided to watch a few more games to decide whether Green could continue his form.

When will Alperen Sengun return?

In the late Sunday night game, Sengun suffered a bone bruise on his knee and a severe ankle sprain. Following the injury, many stated that the star had evaded a major injury. Though it seemed like the center would be out for the remainder of the season, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon dropped a positive update.

In a recent episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, MacMohan said that Alperen Sengun could likely return before the end of the regular season. While the Rockets are yet to finalize their playoff spot, the star’s return could turn things around for the H-Town who are seeded 11th with their longest win streak since November 2019’s 8.

Will Sengun’s return weaken the current hot form? Let us know in the comments below.

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