Rafael Stone

Southwest Notes: Pelicans Pick, Kidd, Rockets Draft, Dinwiddie

May 19th, 2022 at 9:06pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Pelicans already have the look of perennial playoff contender and now they’re armed with the No. 8 pick. Who will they take? Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune takes a closer look at five potential targets, including Arizona’s Bennedict Mathurin, Wisconsin’s Johnny Davis and Baylor’s Jeremy Sochan.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks were fined $50K by the league for bench decorum violations during Game 7 at Phoenix, which baffled coach Jason Kidd, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. “I know about the fine. Just trying to figure out what we did wrong to get the fine,’ he said. “Who complained? It was a blowout, so I don’t think the fans complained.”
Who will the Rockets target with the No. 3 pick? GM Rafael Stone is more concerned about what a player can’t do than what he can do, as he told Kelly Iko of The Athletic. “You can only play five guys, and the league is moving towards less positionality. It’s fine to have players with redundant strengths,” Stone said. “I do think it’s hard if they have redundant weaknesses. And players aren’t perfect, you know, so you’re definitely going to have players with weaknesses. I think that is something that you have to be careful with.”
One of the reasons why the Mavericks have reached the Western Conference Finals is the mid-season acquisition of guard Spencer Dinwiddie in the Kristaps Porzingis deal with Washington. Luka Doncic doesn’t downplay its significance, Marc J. Spears of Andscape writes. “He is amazing with the ball,” Dončić said. “He can do a lot of things. He’s a baller. That’s the best way to describe him. We’re glad to have him.”

Rockets Notes: Schröder, Stone, Wood, Gordon

February 12th, 2022 at 2:32pm CST by JD Shaw

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone expressed optimism that newly acquired guard Dennis Schröder will fit well with the team, Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic tweets. Houston traded for the 28-year-old earlier this week.

“I think the style of basketball we play, we’re either the fastest or top 3-4 fastest in the NBA,” Stone said. “And he’s electric in the open court, and an above average defender. I think it’s gonna be a good fit, both ways.”

Schröder had been considered a possible buyout candidate following his trade from Boston to Houston, but Stone’s comments suggest that’s not the team’s plan. If the Rockets do choose to keep Schröder, he’d provide backcourt depth behind starting guards Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr.

In 49 games this season, Schröder has averaged 14.4 points and 4.2 assists in 29.2 minutes per contest. He’s shot 44% from the floor and 35% from deep during those outings.

Here are some other notes from Houston:

Kelly Iko of The Athletic hosted a Q&A with veteran big man Christian Wood before the trade deadline, discussing the team’s rebuild, Wood’s individual growth and more. Wood has played in 52 of his team’s 55 games this season, averaging 17.7 points and 10.3 rebounds per contest.
Stone expressed confidence that Eric Gordon wants to be in Houston after not being moved in a deadline deal, Alykhan Bijani tweets. “Eric wants to be here. I feel really comfortable talking about that,” Stone said. The 33-year-old is set to make $19.6MM next season and holds a $20.1MM team option for the 2023/24 campaign, so he could be a trade candidate again in the offseason or at next year’s deadline.
Stone also discussed whether the team received trade offers for Wood and Gordon, explaining why he didn’t move either of the players. “We obviously didn’t receive an offer that we wanted to do more than we wanted to keep the guys. I think they’re important parts of this team,” Stone said as part of a larger quote, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 (Twitter link).

Rockets Notes: Wood, Green, Stone, Sengun

February 2nd, 2022 at 1:31pm CST by Luke Adams

Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com is the latest reporter to state that the Heat have been linked to Rockets big man Christian Wood, confirming that a framework involving Duncan Robinson has been discussed. However, Bulpett says people involved in the situation have downplayed the idea that any substantive progress was made.

One general manager who spoke to Bulpett suggested that Houston would want far more than Robinson in a deal with the Heat and expressed a belief that the Rockets’ asking price for Wood and other players has been too high.

“Houston’s really been overvaluing Wood and Eric Gordon,” the GM said. “They think they’re going to get back a major piece, but they’re unrealistic with their expectations. I’ve looked around the league at what they’re putting out there — and I know they have, too. And no one is willing to give up a cornerstone player.”

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Rockets rookie Jalen Green will take part in the Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star weekend later this month, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (video link). Green will be reportedly be going up against Juan Toscano-Anderson, Obi Toppin, and Cole Anthony.
Kelly Iko of The Athletic conducted an extensive Q&A with Rockets general manager Rafael Stone, discussing Stone’s experience since taking over as the head of basketball operations in 2020, Houston’s rebuilding process, the team’s plan for the trade deadline, and much more. Stone said he always wants to be aggressive but doesn’t feel compelled to be active in the next eight days if the right deal doesn’t materialize. “We do have a lot of picks out in the future, so there’s not some huge need that we have either on our current roster — or in terms of future assets — that we need to be aggressively pursuing,” Stone said. “Leading into this year, we were hoping, planning, tracking to be in the area where we’re at now. So, we’re not feeling any particular need to do X deal or Y deal.”
In a separate story for The Athletic, Iko and Danny Leroux chatted about the Rockets’ approach to the trade deadline and the John Wall situation.
Rockets head coach Stephen Silas didn’t like what he saw earlier this season when Christian Wood and rookie Alperen Sengun were on the court at the same time, which is why he hasn’t used that frontcourt combination lately, writes Rahat Huq of The Houston Chronicle. “It’s a tough position for (Sengun) because he’s playing behind one of our better players in Christian, and I don’t feel comfortable at this point playing Christian and Al-P together,” Silas said last week. “The numbers, the eye test have shown that those two together hasn’t been that great.”

Rockets Weighing Stephen Silas’ Future?

November 24th, 2021 at 8:45am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets are weighing the future of head coach Stephen Silas, sources with knowledge of the situation tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Fischer suggests Silas could become the next NBA head coach on the hot seat following Luke Walton‘s dismissal earlier this week.

Fischer’s report comes with a handful of caveats. Unlike Walton’s Kings, there were no playoff expectations for Silas’ Rockets this season. Additionally, staffers in Houston aren’t “waiting for this shoe drop” in the same way that team personnel in Sacramento were anticipating Walton’s exit. Still, Fischer says whispers have grown louder as of late about Silas’ job security — he has just one more year left on his contract after the 2021/22 season.

Silas’ primary goal for a Houston team without real playoff aspirations has been developing young players like Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. Those youngsters have gotten off to slow starts in 2021/22, and Fischer says rival coaches characterize the team’s offense as “disorganized and undisciplined.”

The 1-16 Rockets have the NBA’s worst offensive rating, worst assist-to-turnover ratio, and highest turnover rate. Of course, those numbers may be more the byproduct of the young, inexperienced roster than of Silas’ coaching.

As Fischer points out, Houston didn’t initially hire Silas expecting him to oversee a full-fledged rebuild, but the team has gone in that direction over the last 12 months, opting to pass on promising young players in favor of future draft picks in January’s James Harden blockbuster. Some people around the league believe Silas has been put in an impossible position.

“(Silas) is genuinely one of the nicest people in the NBA. He actually cares about people,” one assistant general manager told Fischer. “To put him with a bunch of really young dudes who probably don’t care about anything but their numbers and playing time, he’s just not the right fit.”

Another Western Conference executive who spoke to Bleacher Report wondered what exactly Silas was supposed to do with this year’s roster.

Although there’s no indication that any head coaching change is imminent, Fischer hears from multiple sources that veteran assistant John Lucas II, who has a strong relationship with general manager Rafael Stone, would be the likely interim replacement if Silas is let go during the season.

According to Fischer, Stone is more hands-on than the average NBA general manager, having walked onto Houston’s practice court at one point to preach defensive philosophy. If he were to make a coaching change, the GM would likely want to continue to have the same level of input into on-court tactics and decisions that he does now.

Rockets Notes: Wall, Wood, Porter, Theis, Vaccines

September 27th, 2021 at 3:23pm CST by Rory Maher

The Rockets and John Wall mutually agreed earlier this month to hold him out of games and work together on finding a trade, but the veteran point guard believes he still has a role to play with the team off the court.

Wall reiterated several times during his Media Day availability today that his main priority is to serve as a veteran mentor to Houston’s young players, and also stated that he’s 100 percent healthy entering the new season (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle).

Wall, who isn’t sure which team he’d like to be traded to, told reporters on Monday, “My job is to be here with this team, stay healthy, and see what the future holds” (Twitter link via Kelly Iko of The Athletic).

General manager Rafael Stone and the Rockets’ front office are in lock-step with Wall, a stark contrast to the situation in Philadelphia. Stone says that the communication between the two sides has been great, stating, “In terms of our communication it’s been easy. The challenge was what works for everyone long term. It’s not like our communication ends today” (Twitter link via Iko).

When asked about the possibility of a buyout with Wall, Stone said he doesn’t expect that to happen anytime soon, if at all.

“Organizationally we don’t have any interest in this at this time,” Stone said (Twitter link via Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston). “I don’t think that makes sense for John and I don’t think that makes sense for us. We’re gonna find things that make sense to both parties.”

There’s more from Houston:

Forward/center Christian Wood, who was a borderline All-Star last season prior to injuring his ankle, says he’s fully recovered from the injury and is 100 percent healthy entering the season (Twitter via Kelly Iko).
Kevin Porter Jr., whom the Rockets acquired from the Cavaliers last season, is beyond grateful to the Rockets. “This organization saved my life,” Porter told reporters today (Twitter link via Iko). “I needed a new change of scenery and they picked me up when I was down.” Porter went on to add that basketball wasn’t an escape outlet in Cleveland because he was depressed at the time, but coming to Houston represented a total 180 for the young player (Twitter link via Iko).
Free agent addition Daniel Theis appears optimistic about partnering with Wood in the Rockets’ frontcourt, expressing optimism that the two big men can play alongside one another and telling reporters that he wants to be the anchor of the team’s defense (Twitter link via Iko).
The Rockets are 100 percent vaccinated, Stone told reporters today (Twitter link via Iko).

Southwest Notes: Stone, Rockets Draft, Van Gundy, Grizzlies Pick

June 24th, 2021 at 8:00pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone is being coy with how he’ll approach the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and even hinted he’d be open to trading it, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. However, Stone does seem excited about adding a cornerstone to his roster. “The goal is to find a star player,” he said. “When you bring in young players especially, you’re really looking for star potential. I wouldn’t use the word ‘expect.’ I don’t want to put that pressure on a player. I do think we’re likely to get somebody really, really talented if we pick the pick.”

We have more from the Southwest Division:

Unless the Pistons do something surprising, Cade Cunningham will be off the board when the Rockets make their first of three first-round picks. Jalen Green, Evan Mobley and Jalen Suggs are the top candidates to be the No. 2 pick and Evan Young of the Houston Chronicle breaks down those players.
Stan Van Gundy was one-and-done as the Pelicans‘ head coach, while Tom Thibodeau was named Coach of the Year in his first season with the Knicks. The fact that the Knicks’ top players bought in to Thibodeau’s style and schemes while the Pelicans’ young core didn’t do the same with their veteran coach led to Van Gundy’s demise, Christian Clark of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes. The Knicks also had more experienced players on their roster than the Pelicans, another reason why Van Gundy failed and Thibodeau thrived.
Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu and Oregon wing Chris Duarte are among the players the Grizzlies could target with the No. 17 overall pick, Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Barnes takes a look at five players who might be a fit with the current roster.

Rafael Stone Talks Upcoming Draft, Scouting, John Wall, More

June 17th, 2021 at 4:29pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

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.”

Rockets Notes: Silas, Offseason, Stone, Sheirr

May 19th, 2021 at 6:23pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets coach Stephen Silas dealt with a pandemic and frequent roster churn during his inaugural season as an NBA head coach. Kelly Iko of The Athletic details how Silas handled coaching a team that suddenly found itself shifting into rebuild mode midway through the 2020/21 season, and what he’s expecting out of the club moving forward.

“I’m definitely encouraged,” Silas said of the team’s future prospects. “It was a tough year for sure but going into next year I’ll be a better coach than when I first came in the door. We’ll have dealt with a lot of things that I haven’t dealt with before. To be discouraged isn’t even in the realm of things.”

Silas intends to utilize standout young guard Kevin Porter Jr. more at the point next season. Silas appears excited to explore the abilities of center Christian Wood, who looked promising when healthy during the first season of the three-year, $41MM contract he inked in the 2020 offseason.

There’s more out of Houston:

Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle takes a look at what could be a productive offseason for the Rockets. Feigen appears optimistic that Kevin Porter Jr., and rookies Kenyon Martin Jr. and Jae’Sean Tate could serve as intriguing players if they continue to develop along the trajectory that Houston management is anticipating.
Rockets team president Rafael Stone discussed the team’s ongoing rebuild and its offseason, per Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. It appears Stone is opening to trading future draft equity if it can yield team improvement. “For sure, draft picks are at least as valuable as trade assets as they are as picks,” Stone said, though he tempered that note by painting a long-term perspective. “We’re really committed to building something to give us a chance to win a championship. We’re not packaging a bunch of picks to barely make the playoffs for a year or two, not at all. We’re trying to build something sustainable and with players that will be good now and great later.”
The Rockets have promoted Gretchen Sheirr as their new president of business operations, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Sheirr will enter her 21st season with the club next season, having started as an account executive before eventually becoming the team’s CRO, then COO.

Tilman Fertitta Says He’s Excited About Rockets’ Future

May 12th, 2021 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have lost an incredible 43 of their last 48 games, will finish the season with the NBA’s worst record, and will only have a 52.1% chance to keep their first-round pick, which is top-four protected. However, team owner Tilman Fertitta tells ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that he remains bullish on the future of the franchise.

“I never thought I could feel this good after winning only 16 games,” Fertitta said of his 16-53 club. “I never thought I could feel this good when I’ve been so upset about losing. But when I look at all the draft picks that we have and the future, I’m just happy. I know it’s unusual to feel this good with your coach (Stephen Silas) and your general manager (Rafael Stone), but I do.”

If the Rockets’ 2021 first-round pick falls outside of the top four, they’ll have to send it to the Thunder in exchange for Miami’s first-round selection. Houston also owes two more future first-rounders to Oklahoma City, in 2024 (top-four protected) and 2026 (top-four protected).

However, the Rockets have acquired several other first-round picks and swaps in various trades, including the James Harden blockbuster — they’ll have Portland’s and Brooklyn’s first-round picks this year, as well as first-rounders from the Nets, Pistons, Wizards, and Bucks in future drafts. Fertitta expressed a willingness to be patient waiting for those extra selections to pay dividends.

“It could be 2027 that we get a top-five pick that ends up being the next greatest player,” Fertitta told MacMahon. “We don’t know, but my people have shown all they’ve done so far is made the right decision, and I’m proud of all of them. I’m proud of the basketball ops people and I’m proud of Silas, because they keep showing me they’re doing the right things.”

Fertitta specifically credited Stone for the acquisitions of Christian Wood and young building blocks like Kevin Porter and Kenyon Martin Jr. He also praised Silas for the work he has done dealing with adversity this season and developing those young players. The Rockets’ owner added that he doesn’t have a specific timeline in mind for the club becoming a legit contender again.

“I can tell you this: I’m going to be patient,” Fertitta told ESPN. “I know my basketball guys know what they’re doing. We’re not going to go do something stupid to try to get into the playoffs next year that then will prevent us from competing for a championship in a couple years. … I think we’ll be much better next year and we’ll be much better the following year and then we’ll be much better the following year.”

Rockets Notes: Olynyk, Stone, Wall, Brown

April 7th, 2021 at 7:38pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets are experimenting with Kelly Olynyk playing alongside Christian Wood before facing a decision on Olynyk this offseason, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

Acquired from the Heat in the Victor Oladipo trade last month, Olynyk has a $12.5MM expiring contract. He has been playing well since coming to Houston and may be raising his value on the free agent market. Iko suggests the Rockets have a limited figure in mind to offer Olynyk and want to take a long look at how his game meshes with Wood’s.

“It seems like they’re getting better every game,” coach Stephen Silas said of his frontcourt combination. “They’re both getting their opportunities, obviously. … They’re starting to play well together and figure it out. There’s a lot I could tell them as far as where they need to be on the floor, but when you play five-out basketball, it’s hard to tell a guy where they should be all the time. They’re both two smart guys; they’re figuring it out. It’s a work in progress, but I like what I see so far.”

There’s more from Houston:

In a radio appearance today on SportsTalk 790, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone promised the organization will be “aggressive” on the trade and free agent markets this summer, but his goal remains to “build really smart,” relays Ben DuBose of USA Today’s RocketsWire. “We do think we can be competitive very quickly. We would hope to field a much more competitive team next year,” Stone said. “But in terms of how long the rebuild takes, a lot of that depends on how long it takes us to acquire a player or two who have the ability to be truly elite. Maybe we even have one or two of those guys on our roster. But it’s not a one-day process.”
John Wall returned to the court tonight after missing the past four games with hip, hamstring and knee issues, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Silas said Wall’s minutes will be limited, but he didn’t provide a specific number.
Sterling Brown has earned Silas’ faith in any role, Feigen writes in a full story. Brown signed a one-year deal in the offseason and will be back on the market this summer. “I trust Sterling as a starter (or) coming off the bench,” Silas said. “He’s been super, super consistent for us this season. Him as a starter, him coming off the bench, he’s very steady.”

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