If the guys could just run a competent offense - period... then KD could stay on the bench in the 4th when we have a 20 pt lead.... Whether u want to put that on Ime, or no FVV, or the players playing - idc... but I watched KD take a seat with a 15-20 pt lead in the 4th - and then have to check back in as the lead disappeared... just avoid those meltdowns... lol
dude cant shoot - period... u dont give him the keys at this juncture. He shot .216 from 3 last year... His 3p%s have been .138 .275 and .216... and u want him to be the pg? I think he did a decent job last year getting thrown into a position that wasnt his skillset... but cmon now... His Efg was .545 - same as his rookie year... He can be a great sf or pf... or he could prob become an average guard... Why do folks always want to push our guys to be something that they're not instead of maximizing their actual attributes? and as for his agent... I'd point as his 3p% and say he cant stretch the d... they can sag off of him and dont even need to cover him on the perimeter... If u think he's a superstar - cool, find a team that agrees and is willing to send us 3 or 4 frps... lol
...But not anymore. Now, every dollar beneath the apron counts, and flexibility is the new guiding light. Front offices must be cutthroat rather than complacent if they want to build a sustainable winning roster over the long term. It has taken some time to adapt to that new state of affairs, and even now, not every team has made the adjustment. But the Rockets have been one of the new model teams in how to negotiate with their own players: Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet all signed deals with some team-friendly elements, rather than their individual maximums. July 1: Rockets get Marcus Smart on 2-year deal Terms: Two years, $13 million Grade: A- July 2: Eason, Rockets agree to five-year deal Tari Eason terms: Five years, $81.5 million Grade: A Bruce Thornton immediately vindicates Rockets' worthy gamble and giving 3 srps to move DFS hurts... but it gets us below the apron this year - so when Amens extension kicks in, we arent already paying the repeater tax is masterful! and i think our best moves have been our non-moves... That SI article wanted us to extend FVV for cap relief now... lol! FK that! Lets see how he plays... then we can re-sign him to a team friendly deal next year (when we can again go above the apron w non-repeater) or we deal him as an expiring at the deadline... flexibility... folks bi*chen about not taking a broad swing on someone like Jaylen Brown... we'll see how he does in the next few years... he's 29 now - the same age when we initially signed FVV... and his current contract runs until he's 32 - same age as FVV now... Stone isnt making any earth-shattering moves... but he also isnt totally mortgaging our future for short term gains... 5 frps in the next 3 years... but perhaps u prefer a 25yo Kelvin Cato on a 6 yr deal? lol
Someone tell Stone to stop watching footage from the 90s. Space and shooting is what wins now. Not doubling up on defensive guys that are terrible shooters.
Well said. He's basically putting his own interests and career above the team. It's why he's always kicking the can down the road and mentioning internal development, it's why he hasn't sold the Nets and Suns draft picks. He can basically point to those 2 elements and say well how can you judge me if the vision is still incomplete. He knows that as soon as he makes a major move like trading those picks, the clock starts to tick on his career. He's not the type of GM who will get scooped up by another team so he knows this is his only shot. It's also why he basically does what Ime wants him to do because what choice does he have? Ime is basically his boss and if Ime goes to Tillman and wants him out, he's out. Ime wanted KD. done. Ime wanted Smart. Done. Ime by all accounts didn't want JB. Stone is legit a fraud and a clown. I told people how garbage he was last year's trade deadline when we were the #2 seed and he CHOSE to operate like a tanking team by taking Jaden Springer's contract and a garbage pick to help the Celtics. He decided that upgrading the team, even marginal upgrades wasn't a priority and then what happened? We lost to the 7th seed as a 2 seed. As long as he's here, the Rockets will never prosper. He'll be here for a long time because puppets are basically an owner's best friend.
Stone was EVP of basketball operations right before he became GM. It was only probably for about a year, but the dude's been in the organization for over 20 years now, so it's not like he was absolutely oblivious to the basketball side of things especially when dealing with contracts.
Stone originally joined the organization on the legal/business side. Rafael Stone lived reasonably close to Daryl Morey and offered to pick up and drop off Daryl Morey for work - so Morey had more time to work. Daryl and Rafael spent a lot of time together - lunch, drive home etc. Eventually Rafael was involved in the basketball side by Daryl Morey. Alexander asked Stone to be involved in getting the sell approved with TF. This gave Stone access to TF and they developed a relationship. Stone has lots of experience with contracts as a lawyer and as Counsel for the Rockets. He also earned the trust of Morey on contracts. Stone played college basketball at a small school - so he has some knowledge of the game, he also has long been a fan as well. He and Morey had a falling out when all of this stuff happened - no idea if they have buried the hatchet. Stone is exceptional at social climbing - and by all accounts is a very good lawyer. His lack of deep basketball knowledge would be less of an issue if he wasn't too insecure to bring in other successful older and experienced people to assist him. He isn't the worst GM ever -- he just has some blind spots and doesn't seem to be willing to compensate for them.
I can accept all this (mostly because I don't know the man and can't argue otherwise). My problem always is somebody on the Interwebz claiming Stone is some idiot that lucked into his position and doesn't know anything. His tenure with the organization was longer than Morey's when Morey left from what I recall. He played college ball at a D3 school. He probably knows a bit more about basketball than the majority of people on this forum (just a guess). He went to school at Stanford which tells me he's probably a bit smarter than the average forum poster (call it a wild hunch). From what I remember reading, he worked for a large law firm that thought highly of him and offered him more money and a position as a partner, but he later decided to quit and take a job with the Rockets because he loved basketball. About the only things I worry about the man are his public speaking ability, but that's a "whatever" to me for the most part, and his status quo approach to this past season. Like others, I kind of worried about him giving up our 2026 pick, but oh well. I personally don't expect too much of this coming season unless we have miracle transactions lined up in the next couple of years. I think he pretty much did what he was supposed to do in the draft according to general consensus. Some of the picks worked out, some of them didn't, and we're still waiting to see if a couple of them could have untapped upside. I'm neither gung-ho nor down on him in that regard.
Raphael had a good run, he can still do the contracts. Can let Donatello and Master Splinter GM the Rockets now.
5th for signing Marcus Smart? lol. How can anyone take these rankings seriously. I guess the Tari signing is carrying a lot of weight here. It was a good signing, but 5th? So many other teams got better through the draft, trades and free agency. Houston sat out the 1st round, traded three 2nds to get off an expiring contract, and signed an aging often injured guard who can’t shoot. We basically didnt address our 3 biggest issues: shooting, ball handling, and rim protection. I guess maybe ball handing to some degree with Smart. But 5th? Lol
