Rockets GM Rafael Stone Draws Praise for Successful Rebuild

It always comes down to knowing how to draft.

Jun 24, 2022; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas and first round draft picks TyTy Washington Jr. and Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. and Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone pose for a picture during a press conference at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

When Rafael Stone inherited the reins from Daryl Morey, he walked into a pretty bad state of affairs. The Houston Rockets, who were one of the league's oldest teams, were coming off a disappointing second-round postseason exit.

They had also just lost their former Coach of the Year in Mike D'Antoni, and their All-NBA backcourt appeared headed for a divorce, after one COVID-shortened season. Russell Westbrook, James Harden, PJ Tucker, Robert Covington, Ben McLemore, and Danuel House would all be either dealt or released within Stone's first season on the job.

Then it got ugly, as the losses mounted up.

The Rockets became one of the worst teams in the league, going 17-55 in 2020-21, 20-62 in the 2021-22 season, and 22-60 in 2022-23. 

Although the product on the court wasn't great, it paved way for the Rockets to restock their franchise with young talent, by way of the NBA Draft. 

Thanks to a little luck in the lottery, not to mention the return from the James Harden trade. 

The Rockets added Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun in the 2021 NBA Draft, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason in the 2022 NBA Draft, Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore in the 2023 NBA Draft.

Each of the six players became high-level contributors for the franchise, so much so that the team posted a 19-win improvement last season, going 41-41 and finishing 11th in the Western Conference. 

The Rockets got more luck in this year's draft lottery, landing the third overall pick- a direct benefit from the Brooklyn Nets' teardown. Reed Sheppard became the Rockets' selection and he's put on a show in this year's Summer League.

Now, four years after Stone’s arrival, the Rockets have one of the league's better assembling of young talent. And Stone netted a contract extension. 

Now, the praise has started to trickle in, as told by ESPN's Kevin Pelton on the Lowe Post podcast with Zach Lowe, who stated that the Rockets have become the model around the league.

"It's interesting how everyone is trying to...now, the Rockets have become the model. A year ago, there was extreme skepticism about alot of the young players. All it takes is one year, I guess, to become the model.

It also requires hitting on alot of your draft picks, even though they missed on some later ones that they moved on from, they hit on alot of the lottery picks."

The Rockets will now have big decisions to make regarding contract extensions, specifically in regards to Green, Sengun, and Smith. But all in all, that's a great problem to have.

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