We are right on the edge of seeing Jalen Green back in the lineup. Finally. It has been more than two months since the Suns last had the young, electric former number two overall pick on the floor. He announced himself with a 29-point debut, then pulled his hamstring early in the first quarter the very next game. Since then, it has been a long wait, filled with anticipation, patience, and a whole lot of checking injury reports.
We do know this much. He will not play on Thursday against Detroit. Still, head coach Jordan Ott made it clear the return is close, saying, “He is there.”
The injury status of Devin Booker remains up in the air after he twisted his ankle on a selfless defensive play while trying to block a shot against Miami on Tuesday. We still do not know if we are going to see Booker and Green on the floor together when Green makes his return. How Suns is that, eh?
When Green comes back, there is going to be an adjustment period. I expect it. It matters to keep the long view in focus, not the nightly returns or the early results once Jalen starts playing again. His presence is going to shift things. It should. He is a player who demands a certain shot diet, and that is going to cut into others. Those others have played well this season, often stepping outside their original roles and excelling.
When Green returns, and hopefully with Booker alongside him, those roles are going to settle back into what they were always meant to be before the season started. The real question is whether that version of the team adds up to something that actually works.
While we are all excited to see Green play in Phoenix, it is worth grounding ourselves in who he is as a player. He is not overly efficient. He is not a great three-point shooter. He can rush his shot at times, especially from deep, and that can spiral into a few possessions that make you bury your face in your hands.
If the Suns drop a couple of games along the way, I can already picture the pitchforks and torches coming out. This is where I am asking for a pause. Myself included, because I know the frustrations are coming for me too.
The long-term goal entering the season, as it relates to Green, was to give him a real runway. To see what he actually has as a player. To see whether a change of scenery can help him grow. To see if maturity can take root. To see if being surrounded by a group built on selflessness and camaraderie, something Green has already touched on in postgame interviews, allows him to take a step forward.
If that happens, the Suns may have found something real in the Kevin Durant trade that brought him to Phoenix. If it does not, then the organization has some difficult questions to answer about what comes next. That is why this season for Jalen Green has always been about evaluation.
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The hamstring injury complicates that. The evaluation was paused. In his absence, the team has excelled. Expectations have shifted. Ideas about what this group can be and what it can realistically achieve are changing in real time.
If losses start to stack up and his play dips, there needs to be a moment of centering. A reminder of what the expectations were at the start of the season. A willingness to allow him the space to reinsert himself into the lineup and find his footing.
That is really the point of all this. A reminder, to myself as much as anyone, that patience matters here. That does not mean avoiding criticism. Being critical is part of being a fan. You watch. You react. You want better. But that criticism has to come with context, understanding, and a clear view of the end goal.
So as Green inches closer, this becomes less about the next game and more about the next stretch. About resisting the urge to overreact to every miss, every clunky possession, every night where the fit feels awkward. This was always an evaluation season for him, even if the injury delayed the clock.
Patience does not mean blind optimism, and criticism does not have to mean panic. It means remembering why this experiment started in the first place, giving it the space to breathe, and judging it honestly when there is enough runway to do so.