Takeaways from Stone’s media availability 1/17/21

I didn't see any nerves in Stone. He is less engaging than Morey, that doesn't necessarily mean he's nervous. He said what every GM in the league (including Morey) has to say about Harden's antics. Essentially you have to minimize them. Every single GM would say the exact same thing.

 

Hopefully he doesn’t talk out his ass about the elite players going to be flocking to Houston

I liked morey but the man over spoke to much. Stone seems like the quiet type and let his work speak for itself

I’m really excited for stone & Silas

 

It is clear that Stone is a company man. There is nothing wrong with that but he is very much by the book. What is supposed to say to some of the questions. My favorite line was its okay I probably wouldn’t have answered it anyway. That is just funny to me.

 

McNair left cause he was offered a job as GM. D'Antoni was not re-signed under Morey. And along the last season (even before) there were rumours of Morey doubting about D'Antoni's continuity.

You decide not to believe Rafael's words, which is OK, but you decide to believe Harden's, whose repeatedly have proved to be inconsistent at the least.

Of course there've been rumours of Harden asking to be traded after the playoffs elimination, and even in the previous summer. Harden himself dropped yesterday that after the bubble already made the idea of leaving, and that it was up to the Rockets to change it. But Harden did know about the Rockets chances and assets to improve the team, he no stupid. You know that Westbrooks continuity wouldn't have changed his idea, in fact there are also rumours of him being OK with Westbrook leaving (Woj).
All this fits wih Morey's rat move and with Harden's approach and profesionalism since the bubble. To me, everything indicates that his decision was pretty much made after last playoffs.

Fertitta may have his flaws, and Stone may be saying BS to the media like Morey very often has done, but if so, they are not the only ones showing lack of honesty here.

 

ITT: When you dont know the man and you already parsing and questioning his motives

 

Clutch asked the two best questions. Stone is savvy at handling the press. Notice he never came near saying the term, "rebuilding", but the way he answered that last question, it's clear we are going to be making more moves for future picks. At least it's a vision, a direction, a strategy. And i for one am eager to get on with a full rebuild. Keep racking up picks and assets and see where we are in a year or two.

 

I know I read on here(I thought you had posted it) that Harden had threatened to demand a trade several times over the years.

 

Extremely pleased with everything stone has done so far. Whatever he's doing, I'm sure he has a plan behind it.

He will lead us to the promised land.

 

If they trade for Russ it'll make them worse than not having Kyrie at all lol

 

Harden homers NEVER remember anything negative about him lol It's amazing. I bought the guy's jersey, shoes, posters and was one of his biggest fans but I can admit certain things about Harden that I didnt like. One of the biggest is him playing GM costing us Chris Paul and then when it didnt work with Russ who he forced on us he then forced his way out. Thats how it happened and I swear they will rewrite that scenario a million times before blaming Harden for anything.

 

Stone got more picks in couple of months then some teams in decade of tanking. You don't have to tank to get picks, you can win and develop players then trade them for picks to obtain even better players...

 

Who needs one of the most proficient scorers in NBA history when you have "flexibility "???

 

yes ! we live in the thoughts word where perception and illusion are stronger then reality... in fact reality is as fleeting as illusion.. its all smoke and mirrors within the smoke and mirrors...

 

Flexibility, two-way, multipositional. Those are the words that rang in my ears as signals of where the organization wants to go. And the usuals: play hard, pace, fun.

I didn't get a vibe that Stone is particularly candid, except for the part about Harden deciding in the bubble.

 

I'm gonna disagree with the OP and some of the responses here:

- I thought Stone came off very polished and smart with his responses. Well thought through and professional all around.

- He said the right thing, even if they were almost assuredly lies. The idea that James didn't force the FO's hand on a trade following the Lakers loss is a joke, but saying it didn't is the type of line you'd expect from the front office, and Stone was right to insist otherwise. The last thing you want as an organization is to throw players who've been part of your franchise for a long time under the bus.

- I am not sure how committed or serious the team is to Oladipo, but Stone certainly sounded like Oladipo was more than an expiring contract to shed salary cap. I guess we'll see how the serious the team is about extending him or if Stone's just saying that right now but willing to part with him closer to the trade deadline. In any case, there's no way Stone would say otherwise if he was planning to let VO depart after the season.

- I am surprised no one asked him about the Jarrett Allen deal. That would have been my question. Why trade a 22 yo starting caliber center for a late first rounder instead of holding onto him and looking for a better deal? Seemed rushed and a place where the team could have gotten a better deal than they did.

- I was encouraged to hear that they are looking to take advantage of the trade exceptions. Means we should be seeing more player personnel moves.

Overall, the press conference wasnt that insightful or illuminating, but there were a few takeaways here and here. As an organization, you have to be happy with the way Stone handled himself and he did a much better job than Morey in my opinion.

I don't know how our player personnel group is looking these days, but this team has more young talent than we've had in at least five years. For a team that hasn't had a draft pick in years and has traded away picks like candy for a long time, the current roster is filled with tons of players that have showed tremendous potential. Jones, KJ Martin, Tate, and Brown are going to improve a lot, and are already showing a lot on the court which has been great. Christian Wood is on the cusp of being a superstar in this league (at least a perennial all-star), and John Wall has been much better than I expected coming into the year. Even a guy like Ben McLemore, though not necessarily "young," is really being put in positions he hasn't for years, and he's showing growth in just how good he's getting with ball handling, making the right pass, and improving his defense. It's all a work in progress, granted, but the team is improving, playing hard, and building a good young core that is showing signs of coming together and being pretty good.

 

The way to a Championship is not by a Full Rebuild. Remember, C. Wood came to win, he signed a 3yr deal....if we aren't in the hunt by next yr. he's going to pull a Harden!

I like what Stone has and is doing, retooling on the fly. If he gets Olidepo to extend and add a legit PF, i.e, a Collins, Siakam or Randall, we are good!

Like I've been saying, nobody in the West scare me....not even the Lakers. The Rockets haven't had a full roster since the season started and they had to deal with all the drama. The Lakers didn't have much turnover, outside of a piece here and there, they basicallypickup where they were last yr.

Now that the drama is behind them and the deep bench we have, all they have to do is stay HEALTHY AND ADD THAT PF

 

That is what the media reported, that Harden said “improve or trade me”.

 

with all due respect I see that plan as a recipe fir the mediocrity treadmill. You’ve got to get a doncic a tatum a booker to build around. The only way to get one of those kinds of talents is through the draft. As long as we are heading in the right direction and can offer him the most money, Wood will stay. Not worried about losing Wood; not everyone is going to act like Harden did.

 

I think this question is super important, its debatable how good the former team was and we need to hit on these picks.