So we are praising the mediocrity treadmill now? In that 3 yrs the Rox were 0.500 and not doing anything Stone turned the Rox from oldest team in the L with negative assets to roster full of young prospects and a nice treasure trove of future assets. Before you praise Lowry and Dragic just think about that. Lowry ans Dragic werent even drafted by Morey they were traded for so I guess we should also praise Stone for signing all star and champion FVV? It isnt even close between the two but you think Stone hasn't anything that can be compared to Morey? bruh. Just compare 4rth year of Morey rebuild vs 4rth year of Stone and its honestly quite comical. Morey hasnt even started yet Stone was done.
Not getting into the rest of this but you can’t give Morey kudos for Dragic when he lost him for nothing and signed Lin instead over giving Dragic a player option. Also, he traded Lowry for one draft pick that ended up becoming Steven Adams, though of course it was an asset he was able to use to get Harden.
Which means 1 year. And that year is riding on Bradley Beal who is done as an elite player. Plus he’s NEVER healthy.
Does that mean they don't anticipate resigning Durant? Because you know Beal is opting into that player option.
It means that if you take the Suns seriously Raphael Stone owns their future. I expect PHX to start trading this year in order to recoup some sort of direction for the franchise. The assortment of talent they have just doesnt mesh.
They don't anticipate having Durant on their team. They could do a sign and trade if not traded before. I expect when they decide to rebuild, they will get rid of everyone.
Deserves a noble peace prize for dealing y'alls b*tching and moaning during this rebuild. Credit to Stone and the Feritta family for stomaching and sticking to the tank job after Harden left. They stuck to the plan and it seems to have worked out We'd be here with Levert, Jarret Allen, and probably Zack LeVine if this board ran the team
You are the one praising him getting to .500 after 3 years. Not me. I want to see at least making the real playoffs before I pass judgement.
Does Phoenix have "3 star" model? Booker, Durant even in his old age, sure. Beal? He's got 3 all star appearances, the last one was 4 seasons ago where he put up huge numbers on a horrible wizards team - last year he shot well for 18-5-4 in 53 games. His star status is under review, as far as I'm concerned.
I can give kudos for Morey being able to identify a player in Dragic capable of playing at a level of our max FA player without needing to spend big money or use a high pick. Who is the best "diamond in the rough" player Stone has identified? KJ? Tate? I mean if you want to dock Morey for letting Dragic go, shouldn't you also dock Stone much more for just never even sniffing someone of Dragic's caliber on the market?
Tari Eason is our diamond in the rough. Such players don't have to necessarily come through free agency. I do admit that Stone hasn't done well with trades so far.
You realize Morey gettng 0.500 with vets and Stone getting 0.500 with a bunch of 21 yr olds are diifferent right?
Sure, but I'm talking about acquiring a big name without sacrificing too much. I'm glad, he didn't sell the farm for Mikel Bridges.
KJ, Wood and Tate were all players that Morey wanted, and Stone went forward with plans to get them when Daryl left. As for diamonds in the rough - I think that Tari Eason is one that will be if he can stay healthy. Mostly, the best thing that Stone has done is sell the rebuild to ownership (something that Morey did not do), and he has avoided any major screw ups at the top of the draft. A lot of them were no brainers, but he did not get cute and over think it. Stone also let Eli be aggressive to get Sengun, and some GMs would have let their ego get in the way. There are areas I could point to and criticize Stone for - especially in the trade market, he tends to get less in trade than he should - but overall the Rockets are headed in the right direction, and Stone deserves credit for that. I would give him a "B" at this point. If Reed Sheppard hits - I think that grade could go up. Is Morey better than Stone? Yeah - he is. If he did this rebuild, I am pretty confident he would have us in this position or better. However, Morey is also a top 5 GM in basketball.
