This is only my speculation - but I think that the issue is that Stone knows that the current team isn't good enough to win a title - and likely will not be good enough long term. Thus, he would likely want to continue to gather assets and opportunities to improve the long term outlook of the team. On the other hand, the ownership wants to win right now and Stone doesn't want to lose his job --- so KD sticks around, Smart is signed and the team puts on the veneer of being a real contender. I find it very hard to believe that KD wouldn't be traded for assets if it were entirely Stone's choice. The Rockets lost the #10 pick last season for KD and the Rockets didn't have a #1 pick for two seasons...... that seems against what Stone has tried to do in the past. I don't see how the Rockets can have a real fighters chance to win a title over the next couple years -- there are a lot of very good teams, and the Rockets are lead by a 38 year old and lack the type of top in young talent that the elite teams have. Stone has analytics - he isn't stupid. Witus isn't stupid either -- and he has certainly shared the models with Stone.
As someone who cheered the Rockets through the depths of the early 80's, hearing folks say they're going to "skip the season" is blasphemy. I may be as disappointed in their performance and direction as others, but I'm not going to stop cheering for them every game. Go root for the Spurs.
Or..... Both FO and ownership just have realistic expectations 3 years removed from historic tanking. Tilman could have demanded a WB like trade for Giannis, Brown, or Kawhi but ownership seems to be having more patience. Stone doesn't seem to have a mandate to be super aggressive. Are the SAS and OKC the Juggernaut Warriors? I don't think so. OKC has 3 max players and are pretty locked in Does Chet and Jalen Williams keep you up? Spurs have Wemby who has a frame and size that is a historic lower body injury prone risk. The new NBA is parity.
One really good player and they play in the East. The West has always been the tougher conference, we've been saying it for decades and it's largely true.
That’s what I don’t get is how some fans continue to view the Spurs and OKC as some mythical team descended from Zeus himself. We always play them tough and it came down to one quarter or a few minutes of play that decided our games. We can look at the glass half empty or realistically think our guys got another year better and we are ready to compete and whoop both those teams ass.
