Recently extended, Stone’s job is safe. But for how long?
“Welcome to TDS, Nick. You really decided to jump into the deep end of the pool with your first article.”
That was a comment left by the Dream Shake user Orange88 in response to my inaugural post, comparing the first three seasons of Jalen Green’s career to the first three seasons of Kobe’s career. Well, if I’m already in the deep end… I might as well swim.
Rafael Stone recently received a multi-year extension to his contract. By no means is his job in question, and rightfully so. With a 19-game improvement from the year prior, the consistent drafting of promising young talent, and the acquisition of quality veterans with shrewd construction of their contacts, he deserves a shot at seeing this thing through.
At Media Day before the beginning of last season, Rafael told the press that the number of wins and losses didn’t really concern him as much as seeing improvement on the court. I thought to myself in that moment, no way he he is saying that unless he’s heard it first from Tillman Fertitta.
According to Fertitta, last season was to be the beginning of “phase two” of the rebuild. So I was surprised to hear the GM say wins and loses didn’t matter, since it was my understanding that “phase two” means becoming a playoff team. If your goal is to become a playoff team in the west, then wins and losses definitely matter.
When the Rockets did not make the playoffs, but did improve significantly on their overall play and wins and losses, it was difficult to know how to feel. Was the season a success or of failure? So many conflicted feelings.
After the initial disappointment of not even making the NBA Play-In Tournament wore off, it became a lot easier to appreciate the positive from the 2023-2024 season.
As an admitted Rockets apologist at times, it was also easy for me to justify all the reasons they “would have” made the play-in tournament if… Alperen Sengun didn’t get hurt just as the team was starting to cook, or if Tari Eason didn’t play fewer games than Anthony Davis over the last two seasons.
If you read my previous article, you already know I gave given Jalen Green grace for his start to last season as he adjusted to playing under Ime Udoka. There is little doubt to me that his play down the stretch after Sengun went down is largely what allowed them to finish at 41-41.
All that being said, here’s what I’m willing to bet my two tickets for the Usher concert in Austin this October on. Come media day this year, I guarantee Rafael Stone will not be telling the media that wins and losses don’t concern him this season. This is a critical point in dare I call it… “the process”.
The decisions Stone has made this offseason, from not giving up the farm for a just above-average player, to trading Brooklyn’s picks back to them in return for future Suns picks, while holding on to the number three pick this year and drafting Reed Sheppard, and culminating with the decision not to extend Sengun and Green; while Stone’s job is safe right now, the outcome of these decisions may determine whether or not he sees another extension before his tenure as Rockets GM is over.
It feels in so many ways to be a make-or-break offseason and season for not just Rafael Stone, but for the Rockets organization as a whole. To say that another season without at minimum making the Play-In Tournament would be a major disappointment is a gross understatement.
Undoubtedly the calls for major roster changes would start getting louder and louder. It would certainly bring into question whether the Rockets ever actually reached “phase two” in the process, and while Rafael Stone did just get extended, the seat he holds would at minimum start to warm up a bit.
The optimist in me will not allow me to ponder those possibilities too much. I believe this season will see the Rockets take another leap forward, even in the juggernaut Western Conference. But as my previous writing may have indicated to you, I am far more patient than most Rockets fans. In fact, that’s one of the things I like about Rafael Stone, as opposed to his predecessor. He appears to be a little more patient than the man who would seemingly offer his grandma in a trade if nothing was materializing involving the players and he thought he could get one over on an opposing GM.
I like Rafael Stone. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t give off the “I’m the smartest guy in the room” vibes, maybe it’s because he and I share the same haircut, I don’t know. Sure he laughs a little too hard at his own jokes, but who of us doesn’t do that? The fact is, he has positioned the Rockets to move into the realm of relevancy for the first time since the bubble season, and he seems to be growing and evolving in his role.
I’ve never spoken to Rafael or to Ime Udoka, nor have I seen them interact in person… not yet (should I earn the trust of Rockets PR and my esteemed editor of course), but they appear to get along and work well together, at least from the outside looking in. Rafael is very quick to draw the line of where his decision making ends and where Ime Udoka’s begins. That’s a good thing. A convoluted power structure is what plagued the previous coach’s tenure and frustrated fans to no end.
In this second year of the current Rockets administration, just as the players now should have a clear idea of their role on the team, as well as the standard and expectations that are set upon them, the same should be the case for the front office. Ime Udoka is the chef, and Rafael Stone is providing the ingredients to what hopefully equates to a tasty meal.
We won’t know definitively for at least two or three more seasons, but whatever the outcome, I believe we will look back on this offseason and the subsequent season as the defining moment of Rafael Stone’s time as GM. I’m rooting him. Corny jokes and all. Because winning makes everything just a little bit better. Make it to the playoffs this season, Rafael, and I’ll be belly laughing at your jokes like your name is Dave Chappelle. Let him cook!
I’ll say this in conclusion. The fact that there any expectations whatsoever for this Houston Rockets team is so refreshing. It has been nearly 30 years since the Rockets owner has lifted the Larry O’Brien trophy to the fans in city of Houston. What would a third Houston Rockets championship mean to those of us who have endured through the heartaches and what if’s ever since that glorious moment? I’d like to discuss that in my next article.
I’d like to thank all the readers who welcomed me to The Dream Shake and for the immediate baptism. It is truly an honor to be here. I look forward to your reactions to this piece. Go Rockets!