Rockets general manager Rafael Stone sat down for an extended conversation with Kelly Iko of The Athletic as the team heads into a major offseason, looking to continue a massive roster overhaul.
After being compelled into trading All-Star guard James Harden to Brooklyn, an injury-plagued Houston team finished with a 17-55 record during its inaugural season under new head coach Stephen Silas.
In the interview, Stone discusses a variety of topics, including how he and his front office team are prepping for what could be a loaded 2021 draft, the way he and his staff evaluate talent in an effort to land under-the-radar depth, and what he projects as the futures of two of the team’s priciest veteran players.
The full story is well worth a read, as Stone also touches on his relationship with team owner Tilman Fertitta, how the team dealt with COVID-19-related challenges during the 2020/21 season, his chemistry with Silas, and more.
Here are some highlights:
On taking an open-minded approach to talent in the upcoming 2021 draft:
“I’m definitely not geared towards any one type of player; we’re just going to try and find the player or players that we think have the potential to be the best. We’re not a team in our iteration that should be focused on this position versus that position, A. But B, I don’t know that any team is generally doing that in the draft. I think the draft is where you’re trying to find just good talented basketball players, I think, where you start thinking about real positionality and holes is more free agency.”
On Houston’s scouting process:
“It’s definitely a collective effort. It’s not just me, I’d say I do my best to use as many different sources of information as I can… I watch a ton. I try to watch them in different situations, I try to envision how they’ll look in our system, both offensively and defensively… My way of thinking about it is you try to funnel. If you can get people who think about basketball differently excited about the same guy, then maybe that’s an interesting guy. When you get to undrafted free agents, or the end of the second round in some respects, you can take a little bit more risk.”
On pricey point guard John Wall‘s long-term fit with Houston:
“John was great… Highly competitive guy who’s nice, super high basketball IQ. We were talking to our young guys the other day, and they were laughing about how John looks like he’s half-listening, and then they’ve got questions and he’s walking them through A, B, C through quadruple Z. He’s been around long enough now. He understands his position, he understands his teammates’ positions, he understands what the defense is doing. Having guys around like that, that’s just about what a pro is supposed to do; you’re supposed to get the whole thing… It’s great for young guys to see that because that’s the level of knowledge that you should attain. You’re not going to have that as a rookie.”
On talented swingman Kevin Porter Jr.:
“His ballhandling is exceptional. That’s not a secret. His passing is really good, too. It did seem like he was miscast playing off the ball. So maybe we were a little more excited about him because we thought that we could maybe unlock a higher upside by moving him onto the ball. We might have been more excited about him than other teams. I’m not in their room, I don’t know what other teams were doing, so I have no idea. But we really liked him.”
Rafael Stone was a lawyer. Now he is Sam Hinkie Jr.
Stone’s biggest success is acquiring John Wall and his leadership
Acquiring KPJr for a ham sandwhich was his greatest accomplishment.
So far
50-100 words on KPJ and not one mention of what was inside the locker.
Smdh
I am still thinking it had something to do with his grammy. Or fetish sites,
Porter got talent for sure. But he better wake up and get his act right. He could play and have a nice to good career. Or be out the league in 5 yrs.
Rockets riding those ping pong balls. Falls their way. They get a head start on rebuilding. Top 4 pick is a great talent. Rockets should also be looking at players other teams want to move. Like Markkanen or Bagley. Both imo have a nice future.
Good point on Bagley, he’s a very intriguing buy low candidate.
When you’re talking up Kevin Porter Jr. you really are not going to be a relevant franchise for at least 5 years. No city deserves the sports karma that’s coming for it more than Houston.
I agree. It’s hilarious. It’s gotten so bad that now Watson might not play a down for the foreseeable future with the Texans. The entire sports city is in shambles. I love to see it.
The Texans definitely suck, but the Astros have been to the ALCS 4 years straight and going for five this season. And the Rockets are poised for a huge turnaround next season. So no one is in shambles aside from the crappy Texans, whom I couldn’t care less about.
I’ve always been a loyal fan, so as a fan of the Oilers for longer than I can remember I still prefer the Titans to their inferior replacement.
I love how Wally World pretends a team with AD and LeBron won’t be contenders but his team and their awful roster are due for a “huge turnaround”. Your team traded Harden for late 1st round draft picks and Avery Bradley. Rockets are easily in worse shape than the Texans.
It’s so damn hilarious reading Marty trying to hide his jealousy by diminishing how great KPJ was this season when he became one of the youngest players in NBA history to score 50 points in a game.
He joined LeBron, Booker, and Brandon Jennings as the only players to do so before turning 21. The amazing thing is Porter isn’t even the best player on the Rockets’ roster, that’s Christian Wood.
And Houston should add another player who’s even better if they are lucky enough to stay in the top 4 in next Tuesday’s draft lottery.
Astros fans roll eyes at Raz….
Basically people think the whole city deserves karma just because of the Astros. It’s ridiculous. I think Marty McRae blocked me because the reply option for his comment isn’t available.
Rockets draft is looking to have potential. At worst we draft 18,23,24 in the deepest draft in probably five years. At best we draft 1-4 and 23, and 24. Perhaps they get top 4 and package 23/24 to move into top ten. They way they could add two nice players to go along with Wood, Martin, Porter, and Tate. Creating a strong nucleus of young players.