People are really still upset about not getting Jarrett Allen? Seriously? Sengun is better and its not even close. I'd rather take a 1st round pick and develop Sengun than have a 100$ million dollar contract on the books impeding a better player from developing. And since Stone did such fantastic job landing our center of the future with the 16th pick, that money can be better spent elsewhere on a player or players who fit the future roster and timeline better. That Theis contract like you said is not bad and will be moved to a contender for a small asset. Why the heck not use free agency as a way to gain marginal draft capital? Stone gets an A+ from me.
I fail to see how that makes it a bad job?? If Green is a bust, that is bad scouting. But if Green is say 82/100 and Mobley is 87/100, it is unreasonable to say that was a bad job. A good job is to get a player who is not a bust, and has star potential. There are too many variables past that stage - drive, desire, opportunity, injury, etc
The gameplan for rebuilding relies on drafting at least one transformational talent with the lotto pick last summer and this upcoming summer. So far Green looks like he might not have the “it” factor so our pick this Summer has a lot riding on it. I almost feel like Stone will hope we don’t end up in the top 3 again so he won’t have that kind of pressure on him but the gameplan to rebuild is built on that being a necessity. Stone has looked like a B- so far imo. There’s a lot to like but also some concerns as well. This is a team that lost 15 games in a row. Either let this team bottom out and trade out the vets or do a go for a Harden type of blueprint again where we play a bunch of Scola/Battier types and just accumulate picks to bundle in a trade. But these half measures are kind of concerning. Do you really have the balls like Hinkie did with the Sixers to do what is necessary?? I don’t know yet.
I'll go from bad to good. 1. The most disappointing thing are the manipulative media plants. "Rockets are being offered a mid-first round pick for Oladipo", "D.House was the MVP of training camp", etc. In my experience, in business it pays in the long term to have integrity and to treat counterparties with respect. I am seeing the same shiftiness that Mori had. Thinking that others are idiots? They are not, they see what you're doing, and they'll keep it in their mental notes and will Fook you up when given a chance. 2. Interfering with coach's job, rotations, etc., if true is also an extreme negative: terrible for organizational culture. 3. Shutting down J.Wall and the whole awkward mumbling fiasco about it. I just don't think it helped KPJ at all to be given the PG key by shutting down a 5x All-Star. He should have earned it, and if Wall got outplayed by KPJ but refused to go to the bench, THEN you shut him down. The way it was done is not good for the culture, bad incentives, bad example all around 4. Daniel Theis was a mistake, but not a colossal one. I liked Theis in Boston, but it is clear to me now that he's more valuable on a good team, where his occasional big rebound or defensive stand or 3pointer somehow has more value. Clearly on a bad team with increased role he is lost. Same with Chicago after the trade last year and now with Rockets. He needs to be on a good team. 5. Jalen Green was a mistake, but not sure how much it was him vs ownership wanting a more marketable player. I remember Stone hedging quite a bit about Green around the draft. 6. The biggest positive is the Sengun trade and pick. 7. The other huge positive: excellent at finding underappreciated value in the bargain bins. Tate, Mathews, KJ MArtin 8. Jaygup will be an All-Star, excellent find at #24
Stone Age... *HARDEN TRADE - This was the right move and keeps getting better over time as we continue to short the Nets. The last pick and two swaps always insured this deal, but the hot mess in Brooklyn is golden for us, as we hold all the cards there. KPJ - We know he was brought up during trade conversations in the aforementioned Harden deal. It seems awfully "coincidental" that Kevin ends up here right afterwards. (behavior or not) Whether the two franchises agreed on it beforehand or it really was a cause and effect deal, I group him in with that trade... KPjr will either successfully make the conversion to PG (in which case his value will be even higher) or get it in his natural flow, off the wing. Regardless, an extremely valuable piece... MOVING ON SENGUN, and getting a top 3-4 player in the draft at 16 was brilliant. THE WB DEAL allowed us to get Alperen with the pick(s) and insured us having the really crappy record helping us keep our pick. WB would have played too many games and kept us from #2. JC - I wanted Quentin with this pick, but Josh has already blown that out of the water. He looks to be a helluva two way player in this League for many years. CW was picked up for a song, and probably holds the equivalent value of a #5 pick at this point...once you factor in contract & 20/10. It remains to be seen what we get for him, but rest assured, it will be A LOT more than we paid. Stone has shown the ability to recognize young talent, and acquire it cheaply...an attribute that is serving us well as we rebuild. That brings me to the only negative...Taking Green over Mobley. In a vacuum, it's pretty awful. And, I say this believing that JG will be an All Star one day. That said, the Rockets had a plan, and I'd say it's working out pretty well. I'm assuming JG continues to develop, while closing the gap a bit. So, in summation...Consider where we were when Stone took the reins... Yes, he was going to have a blank canvas, with a palette full of primary colors, but he's already showing us OLD MASTER skills. I look at him and see a combination of Daryl's cutting edge analytics, and an Old School Poker player (cards close to the vest). He's the evolution to the modern day GM.
I think it's been a mixed bag personally. Positives: Good draft (I'm not one of the idiots who thinks Green is a bust, happy with all our picks) Tate Mathews KJ Porter Negatives: Offered Dipo an extension (which he thankfully declined) Theis The entire Wall situation - 40m of dead cap space is just flat out bad strategy, big negative here. Either use Wall or do anything you can to make that money work for us. Should've dropped House a lot sooner rather than letting him take minutes only to go for nothing. I'd say he's been pretty average. Can't remotely say he's been a great GM so far with the Wall situation, and he's lucky the Nets aren:t looking like a Dynasty are that Harden trade would've been questionable.
Stone was left with nothing by Morey who had traded away our assets in the Westbrook deal...................Stone so far has been A+ in trying to recover from that
The Allen trade; so everyone pretty much laughed and agreed it was way too much for him and now it's fine? Keep in mind if we get him, we don't have either Wood and or/Alpi which is the same argument with Mobley too
The Wall situation is a product of prior bad decisions with the biggest bad decision that caused it during the Moreyball, and there really wasn't much Stone could do about Harden not wanting to be here as the bad blood was spilt before he was GM. Considering how bad things could be right now, I am very happy with Stone. Though, I agree that I think Green won't be a bust even if he isn't the best person in this draft, and I do think Stone got really lucky with the draft even if Mobley is better than Green.
I think drafting Green was awesome and we will be a Superstar and this year either picking 1st or 7th we will draft a big man maybe not talented as Mobley but he can a big time shot blocker with no offense(Mobley lite)
He will be judged on how Green pans out, and whether the team rebuilds quickly. I don't think Tillman has patience for a long rebuild.... DD
I'm fine with the job he's done so far. The Wall situation isn't ideal for all parties involved but it'll work itself out--at worst Wall is a Rocket until summer of 2023 though I think he'll be gone before the end of next season via buyout. In a league where a crappy GM can torpedo your team's chances of competing for years, Stone's above averageness isn't a bad thing.
You can try and excuse it all you want, but having 40m of cap space sat in street clothes is not the hallmark of a good GM.
I agree totally, unless he lands another Superstar in another way. Green could still develop into one but it doesn't have to be Green. It could be someone else he acquires. Ultimately though, he has to build a Championship roster.
Pros Getting Olynyk for Dipo GM find and contract JT find and contract KPJ trade AB find and contract Sengun trade / draft JC draft PJ trade (got us JC?) Wall - if Wall refuses to come off the bench, not playing him is ok with me Not going for Simmons Tbd Garuba draft Green draft (doesn’t look great compared to Mobley now, but too early to tell) Not trading Wood this off-season - unclear if his trade value will be again as high The Harden trade - value of Nets picks can fluctuate a lot Cons Dipo for Allen, Prince, Lavert - we may have lost 2-3 FRPs here Not resigning Olynyk at the contract he got from Detroit The Theis signing and contract- 3rd year is inexplicable, $9m p/a is funny The trade leaks to drum up interest on Dipo, EG Not finding a trade for EG by now Not tanking hard enough to get a top-3 pick this year - I’m happy with the wins, but if we are to contend we absolutely need another shot at a franchise player / generational talent. Overall a solid B. However, depending on how Green and the Nets picks pan out, this could be anything from F to A+ .
