Ok. The very first decision Stone made as president of basketball operations was hiring Stephen Silas to be the head coach. How in the world can that be judged as a 100% great move? That hire was a terrible decision. Then, as the Rockets were mired in the worst funk with a terrible roster that included people who the Rockets paid not to play, he was fortunate enough to hire Ime Udoka, the best coach on the market by a landslide, though his reputation had been trashed. This hire absolutely was the best thing Stone has done, and he learned to let the coach do the coaching. I don't hate Stone, but let get the story straight. It's not all roses here. Most anyone could have picked the BPA. I'm glad he's assembled the talent. I'm waiting to see the defining moves that would show him to be a shrewd, GM. I see other GMs making moves and swinging for the fences. We've picked a nice player that fits our culture in Jaden Springer.
Silas was hired to tank and completed his job - the Rockets just couldn’t publicly say it, but the roster construction was also part of the tank strategy and now it’s paying off
Did you read what I wrote? I literally said "The guy hasn't hit on 100% of every personnel move he's made since he became GM." Reading comprehension is important, chief. Also, you could argue it worked out in the end, because as terrible as he was, it netted the rockets three straight top 4 draft picks. I'm not a "homer glasses" kind of fan. Stone has made mistakes. Silas. Trying to make KPJ a thing despite the off-the-court stuff. Adding Oladipo and banking on him as the core piece of the Harden trade. And, hell, I'm still not sold that Green should have gone before Mobley. But I'm not sure all of the guys he's picked have been BPA. A lot of people had concerns about Amen. Sengun, Tari and Cam were steals that tons of other GMs passed. Stone was also criticized for the Brooks and FVV acquisitions, but those guys have been instrumental in shifting the culture and mentality of the franchise. And, yes, the Udoka hire was an amazing get—the fact that he was able to get him at all after the dumpster fire they were two years ago is kind of remarkable. So, no, Stone isn't perfect. But he could have done things a lot differently. He could have traded the farm for a star 1-2 years ago and settled in as a 40-win franchise. He could have bombed on draft picks, but he hasn't really "missed" on anybody in the draft. And he overpaid to bring in veterans, but he had the room to do it, he did so on reasonable contracts that wouldn't hurt their long-term flexibility and they've proven to be worth it. Quit the Stone hate. Quit begging to break up the core for an 80-year-old superstar. It's ridiculous.
So we basically hired a GM and told him, stand still, don't do anything risky. We're going to try to get Victor W. If you can't get the #1 take the BPA. The habits and lessons Stone learned on the job then are what we're dealing with now.
