And on one occasion prior to the 2021-22 season, Stone interrupted a Silas-led session to give his input on and show defensive positions to a few players who were present, sources with direct knowledge of the instance say. The interference reached a point where Silas eventually had to inform Stone he could no longer halt the coach’s practice sessions. “Stephen had to address the front office and check them,” one source familiar with the matter said. Such an incident never happened again. Silas, sources say, experienced difficulty at times connecting with players like Christian Wood and Kevin Porter Jr., evident in suspensions for both in January 2022. Wall and Silas were close and might have helped establish order, but the decision to exclude the veteran point guard from the rotation was a directive from management. Between Wood, Green, Eric Gordon and Porter, there was an underlying battle for pecking order. As a result, there was an overall lack of leadership. The absence of leadership off the floor turned into chaos on it, with a lack of winning habits the only consistent theme in a 20-62 season. Offensively, players deviated from game plans and resorted to their own means. Defensively, the effort was largely null and void on a nightly basis. It’s no surprise that the Rockets, per Cleaning the Glass, have ranked in the bottom four in offensive and defensive efficiency over the last three seasons. But the crux of this season’s struggles, again, was a lack of identity. Similar to the year prior, there was still no clear pecking order offensively. The Rockets drafted Jabari Smith Jr. with the third overall pick but struggled to incorporate him into the offense for much of the season that already featured two high-usage guards who struggled with offensive cohesion and execution in Green and Porter. That, combined with a disgruntled Gordon and an improved Şengün — who actually began the year as a backup to Bruno Fernando — made Houston’s turnover-laden offense an even bigger mess. A rocky 2-12 start mirrored a 1-15 start the year prior, both of which came with serious thoughts of firing Silas, sources told The Athletic. Internal progress markers were set which he had to meet to continue on as head coach but ultimately, he was able to save his job in both instances with several timely wins during those early evaluation periods. Silas then dealt with the loss of his father, Paul, on Dec. 11, by which point the Rockets fully intended to allow Silas to finish the season.
I do think the "sources close to Green calling for more structure" are probably his extended family and his agency.
And then there was the issue of Gordon, the lone veteran who bridged two eras and grew weary of the surrounding dysfunction. While Gordon understood the organizational tack the Rockets were taking, sources say he approached Silas before the season with a proposition: He wanted to be featured more prominently, and consistently, in the offense. Gordon believed that could aid in the young guards’ development, and that his own trade value around the league would be raised as a result. It would be a win-win scenario, he believed. Silas, a huge fan of the former Sixth Man of the Year, fully understood where Gordon was coming from but reiterated that things were out of his control, sources say. Prior to Gordon’s February departure, he had expressed his frustrations with on and off-court developments on multiple occasions to teammates, the coaching staff and upper management. Gordon’s value and importance to Houston was clear but there were moments in-season where Silas went away from the expected and deferred to him in late-game scenarios when the organizational preference would have been to have played through Green or Porter. “Defensively, while Silas attempted to stress the importance of versatility on that side of the ball, it was clear that it wasn’t his realm of expertise. His players were ill-equipped to defend and he failed to find any suitable scheme to cover up their many deficiencies on that end. The Rockets lost a variety of games due to fourth-quarter collapses, some of them boiling down to mismanagement of the coaching staff. From a talent perspective, Houston had enough firepower to make games competitive but lacked understanding of bridging the gap — which boils down to the head coach’s responsibility. Progress was certainly made, most notably with Green’s ability to draw contact and get to the free throw line, the ascension of Kenyon Martin Jr., Smith’s improvement and Porter’s maturity and efficiency.
Me personally i think the rockets core is ok if some coach can turn things around. Might have to spend the money on Vogel and Cassell both. If Houston does not make brown trade or sign harden still no biggie. But this draft along with the next coach, and whatever vets the rockets can bring in you hope things will turn around. Listen its hard for fans to go threw losing, but if they can start winning more next year who knows. They still have 3-4 year window at young age. It could turn out exactly how the suns started winning after the drafts.
The Rockets are these three things away from having a nice 30-35 win season with real growth, and Stone's job should be fine if Tilman isn't completely irrational: A good defensive-minded coach who actually runs a real offensive system. A real point guard who can initiate a half-court set properly and keep the ball moving. A solid three-and-D veteran to space the floor and lock down the opposing team's best player (one of KJ and Eason will probably have to go, sadly). As long as Stone doesn't get impatient and make desperate trades, we will be on the right track. If we land a top 5 pick, it'll be that much better. Wemby or Jarace Walker could easily slot into a three-man frontcourt rotation with Jabari and Sengun, Scoot would fill the "real point guard" role right away. With Amen Thompson we might want to bring in a veteran to mentor him and take some of the minutes since he'd be more raw.
agree fully . An ex rocket I’ve been thinking about who is NOT James harden is Patrick Beverley . He could probably be had for 10-15 million per . and he is a dog who would push guys . our biggest experience gap is at guard . Kpj has had ok spurts , so has jalen green . But they both look like dead fish out there at times too . They need an intense vet who can still bring it on their ass . how much does he have left in the tank ? I agree with keeping the pick . Unless maaaaybe it’s 7th , but even then what are you getting with it ? does Gary Trent play defense ? how much would Dillon brooks cost and would he **** up chemisty ? what did he do again ? If you’ve got Jae-Sean Tate , tari Eason , and Dillon brooks on the floor at the same time That’s a lot of fight . Could that lineup play with jalen green and sengun and see if we can play like a team ? do kpj and green even play well enough to earn a starting spot if we get Patrick Beverley too and ty ty or jc figure some things out . I believe in Jabari , sengun , Tate , tari , green, kpj in that order . But green clearly has huge upside if he can learn how to play . The lack of structure Makes it hard . He’s learned how to get to the ft line and get hot and make tough shots . I’ve seen some assist capabilities from him , but not enough to be sold . Tate is the odd one , but I believe we held him out . He could have played . Guy has brought it on both ends and created and scored for himself . moving too fast for the rest of his squad. Jabari was plain ass on offense , but I think his little hot streak will give him confidence he needs over the offseason . He’s a bonafide 2-way guy . He can get a turnaround off and he can make it . He showed more handle than I expected. Brought good energy . Was raw And didn’t have an nba body yet . Might take another year or two , but he’s good . Sengun needs to be tested way more . I hope he does not play internationally this summer and instead takes time off and strengthens his body . He needs to keep getting faster I do like how we featured KJ at the end of the year . Hopefully someone gives him something good for us
The Ones to go are Sengun, Porter, Tate, Nix by Trade Also several others who are too poor for a Championship Team, and their Contract is up! Namely Kamansky, Days, Hudgins and Boban.Y
Stone has done a great job as a GM. So what if there's lack of structure? We are tanking what's the point of structure? Silas has a great relationship with Wall and C Wood? Who tf cares? Are we really blaming Stone because John "throw them under the bus" Wall wasn't able to lead the team? What's he doing on the Clippers again? Oh wait they threw back to us and the Rox bought him out, I guess even the Clippers didn't appreciate the brand of leadership Wall was supposed to provide. The Rox are actually in a great spot they have a bunch of young 20 yr olds and max capspace next season. Even if no max FA is avaliable you can still sign a couple of good FAs like Austin Reeves and suddenly this team is competitive.
Depends on the player/situation. What we might have to offer to younger free agents is an expanded role versus what they're able to get with their current teams/more competitive teams with cap space. For more veteran guys, it's true we might have to overpay, but we can look for guys who are having a hard time finding a longer deal and offer 1-2 year contracts that pay more than other teams but won't cripple our cap flexibility down the road. For this offseason, we should probably avoid really good starters in their prime years like FVV in my opinion. Those guys would require a massive overpay and a max-length contract.
Probably not without them being sure fire contenders or on the verge, but outside of 1st and 2nd all NBA players everybody is essentially overpaid Players usually go where the money is, so if a free agent is offered 4-5 mill and Rockets counter with 9-10 mill per season then that free agent will more than likely choose Rockets even though I wouldn't call it major overpay and would be easy to move that contract if need be, similar to Theis deal
This is THE summer that will make or break Stone and the team. We tanked(pretty egregiously) the last 3 seasons, and in about a month, We will have one last top pick for a while. We have the most cap space in the league, and We have lots of interesting avenues to explore to improve the team. Stone inherited a mess both on and off the court, and even though he made lots of questionable moves aside from drafting (which is top notch), he will have the cleanest slate possible this summer. 60+ mil of cap space, with a roster full of young talent and no coach at the helm. It's encouraging to see that they jumped on the HC search as soon as the season ended. The key is picking the right coach that will connect with Stone and Tillman and share their vision, or get them to buy in into his. We will see how that plays out. After the new coaching hire comes the lottery. Another huge crossroad, and so many options will be open. Depending on how that goes, the rest of the offseason will take shape. Do We max out Harden and try to bring Brown, or We split the cap space into short big dollar contracts for key vets to kick the can down the road for next summer?
