My biggest problem with Stone was Oladipo. And not even Olapido alone. It was what Oladipo meant. Tacking on a guy like that to a rebuilding trade made no sense to me. Tacking on a veteran coming off of major injuries with declining skills, who’s age exceeds our rebuilding window, and then offering him an extension told me that Stone wasn’t really trying to rebuild. He was trying to have it both ways; rebuild and retool and stay competitive. Can u imagine how screwed we’d be if Oladipo actually agreed to that extension? And then there was the Oladipo trade debacle at the deadline. Just complete screw up from soup to nuts. As far as I’m concerned Stone owes the team a 1st rounder. I’m also not happy with the Silas hire. I get it, he deserves a full year with a healthy team, but even with all the injuries last year it’s hard to completely absolve him from any responsibility. I’m just not sold on him; this year will tell us a lot. but I like some of the other things Stone has done, and let’s face it, he’s had a lot of mountains to climb, so I give him a B and hope he can earn my trust by killing this draft.
Stone offering Oladipo an extension still has me giving him some side eye the Harden trade isn’t something u can judge right now, so that’s TBD Silas is also a wait and see for now he did good picking up Tate, KJ, and KPJr…now he has a big decision coming up with this #2 overall pick
The fact that we did not lose our pick doesn’t change the fact that the trade for Russ was a horrible decision. In terms of grading the FO, it doesn’t make sense to mark them up or down based on luck of the draw on the pick swap. The bad decision, and for me the blame goes to Tilman who I believe forced the trade, is based on taking the risk of losing the pick, not the outcome.
Yes I do believe this current regime was dealt a disintegrating mess that was handed to them by the previous regime....it carried over into this season beyond January. But let us not forget Stone was also part of the failed mess.
He's done a good job -- we have a young core of solid talent with the #2 pick incoming. If it works out long term or not is anyone's guess, but we're definitely set with some intriguing players for several years.
The few decisions he's made on young players have been good. I'm optimistic. I hope Tilman helps us tank again, it's imperative.
@saleem What I meant by Stone being a part of failed mess, I'm talking not only 2020 when Stone took over for Morey; but further back. Stone has been with the Rockets since 2005. How much input did he have with: Royce White, Jeremy Lamb (2012) Zhou Qi (2016) Vincent Edwards (2018)
Good points. Let's hope for the best. Morey and he had a lot of heated arguments, so I hope Stone's input was minimal at that time. I'm somewhat more hopeful since he has worked out Tre Mann and JT Thor. They are good players to consider. They aren't Sam Dekker. Jalen Johnson has been interviewed. Perhaps Stone might try to move up to acquire him. I wouldn't be surprised if Ziarie Williams and Greg Brown are in the mix. Stone does want positionless players. Royce was intriguing no doubt. He just wasn't mentality ready to play pro ball. I hope Stone will take past mistakes into consideration.
I will feel more comfortable if Stone hits a home run with the 3 picks. I do feel that he could be a better drafter than Morey, because of his Division III basketball background.
Yes, I can mostly judge Stone by 2020....since his role was minor prior. At the same time I wonder about push for players that were poor, Stone may have had input in Capela (or KMjr evaluations before Morey left). You and I questioned the purchase of a second round pick used on Vincent Edwards. Edwards is a good example of a player being a good defender in college but not being good enough as a defender in the NBA; which worries me about Evan M.
yes. And then Dipo turned it down, which worked out for us, but should we count 'luck' as part of Stone's report card?
What Bucks paid for Jrue to the haul we could have gotten from DEN, MIA or BOS for Harden. Stone and Rocket fans underestimated the unreasonable bias of Riley and Ainge. Even they were not immune to the years of negative media coverage. Sean Marks knew better. MIA flamed put against rival Bucks. BOS underperfomed where long time GM Ainge quit. DEN poor Jokic slugged it out without Murray, imagine Harden play making for them. MPJ had an OK showing but couldn't given them the playmaking.
Yes, I remember that. I wasn't sold on Vincent's defense since he had injuries in college. He had no offence or passing to speak off. Capela was more than good enough for a 25th pick. I don't know if Morey had more input than Stone regarding KMJr. Stone still deserves some credit for it and for Wood too. Morey was gone, and he had to make those decisions plus acquiring KPJr. Mobley is quicker and longer than Edwards, but he needs to gain some hard muscle without losing any of his speed. I think he can do that. I don't know if he is getting stronger. He has the most to gain from workouts. If he doesn't shine in them, he could fall to 3 or even 4.
Lost in the excitement of keeping the pick, Jalen Green or Evan Mobley,… BrokeTits is still the owner.
Well, Wood was recruited by Harden as was Cousins. This is why Cousins was so upset when Harden forced his way out. I was reviewing Vincent Edwards draft profile. They questioned whether Edwards can fight through screens. Which is one concern of mine. Does Mobley fight through screens if hidden in college zone defense? Did Mobley have to fight through screens from guys the size of Embiid, Vuc, Valanciunas, Gobert, KAT, Kanter, Julius Randall, among others?
Wood, KPJ, Kmart Jr, Tate, is a great core moving forward. We need a stud to lead them, for right now who should we pick to possibly fill that role. Who would mesh best with this group Green or Mobley?
The player with the most fight in him. I'm leaning towards Green, despite Mobley's superior overall skill set. Stone has a tough decision to make. Let's hope he gets it right. Suggs remains the dark horse.
