The temperature is heating up now that June is here, which can only mean one thing: NBA free agency is right around the corner.
Even though this year's free agent period opens on Sunday, July 6, the Houston Rockets will have their hands full before that. The Rockets have eight players who need to be re-signed or have team options that must be addressed before the market opens, leaving time to tell who will and won't be back in a Houston jersey this fall.
While some upcoming free agents might be open to a fresh start elsewhere, one of the Rockets' pending FAs just made it clear he wants to stay in Houston before calling it a career.
Rockets Free Agent Jeff Green Wants to Retire in Houston
Jeff Green is one of the upcoming free agents whom the Rockets must make a decision about. Having said that, the former Georgetown product isn't hiding that his dream is to be re-signed by Houston before the market opens.
"Houston has been home for me for the last couple of years, and I want to keep it that way," Green told The Ringer's Zach Lowe on Wednesday. "Hopefully, we can make something work where I can retire there, whether it be 20 or 21 years. My wife says 20 and that’s it. So, I think I know what that is. So, two more years it is."
Green, 38, has played with 11 teams throughout his 18-year career, so the fact that he wants to stay in town is fairly high praise for the Rockets. The former 2007 fifth-overall pick first played in Houston for 18 games in 2020 before returning on a two-year, $16 million contract during the 2023 offseason.
Since rejoining the franchise, Green has been a locker room leader toward his young Rockets teammates. His on-court performance isn't what it once was, though, but that hasn't stopped him from contributing off the bench to the tune of 6.2 points, 2.1 rebounds, and .468/.343/.817 shooting splits across 110 games (9 starts).
Even if the Rockets are fully on board with a return, Green will likely only be brought back for the right price. Signing him to the veteran minimum amount makes sense considering that he's turning 39 years old in August and only suited up 32 times last season. If that doesn't work for him, Green can try extending his NBA career elsewhere or retire altogether.
With about a month to go until free agency begins, Rockets fans will have a better idea of Green's chances of being re-signed sooner rather than later.