Rafael Stone is owed a lot of credit for Houston’s success…and a lot of apologies from haters.
To say that the Houston Rockets have had a successful season would be an understatement. After a combined record of 100-218 from from the prior three seasons, Houston has done a complete 180 this year, clinching the second seed in the west as they hold a 52-28 record. A large part of this success is due to the job Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone has done over the past few years. After a shaky start to his tenure as GM, Stone has redeemed himself completely by making winning moves over the last two seasons and putting Houston in the position they’re in now. With that said, let’s take a deep dive into Rafael Stone’s success as the Houston Rockets GM.
When Rafael Stone officially took over as General Manager of the Houston Rockets in the beginning of the 2020-21 NBA season, he joined a franchise that had a lot more problems than not. To start, James Harden’s departure was looking more and more like a certainty, Russell Westbrook’s fit on the team was looking questionable, and the team’s title window had most definitely closed. Yet just four and a half years later, the Rockets are back near the top of the standings, stocked with one of the league’s best young cores and a great deal of assets and draft picks that could make any team at least consider a trade offer. Here’s more on Rafael Stone at GM.
The Harden Trade
Stone’s most defining move came at the very beginning of his tenure — just nine games into the season at that — when James Harden was traded and sent to Brooklyn. While many fans still to this day wish he’d been traded somewhere else, Stone in the moment had prioritized flexibility and upside over talent. He flipped Harden for a haul that included in the end four unprotected first-round picks (three from Brooklyn, one from Milwaukee) and four pick swaps as well as Victor Oladipo.
He also used leverage throughout the process to ensure as close to a maximum return as possible, refusing to be boxed into a corner and lose any assets. Though the Rockets didn’t end up with a guaranteed young star in return like they could have, it’s not like it would’ve helped out all too much with the roster they had. The most important aspect of the entire trade, however, was the fact that Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden all were gone within the next three seasons, and those Nets picks suddenly looked very appealing. In fact, some of those picks were given back to Brooklyn just this past offseason in trade for Phoenix’s next few first round picks which were acquired in the KD trade to the Suns from the Nets. All things considered, it was a true full circle moment, and Houston has only continued to utilize moves from this trade even to this day.
Draft Successes
The cornerstone of any NBA rebuild is almost always the draft, and Stone has delivered. In 2021, he selected Jalen Green at No. 2 overall, a move that seemed perfect then. While Green’s pick is still debated, he’s shown flashes as an electric scorer, though inconsistency and inefficiency have sometimes been issues. The upside is big, but the question is if it’ll translate long-term. That same year, Stone also drafted Alperen Sengun (No. 16 via trade), Usman Garuba, and Josh Christopher. Garuba and Christopher didn’t stick, but Sengun has become his most valuable pick. Improving every season, Sengun has blossomed into an All-Star this year and might even be All-NBA. Just an absolute steal at 16 looking back.
The 2022 draft was another win. Stone took Jabari Smith Jr. at No. 3, who’s been Houston’s starting power forward since day one and still has a good amount of upside. More impressively, he got Tari Eason at No. 17, another steal. Eason has emerged as one of the league’s most active defenders and has become Houston’s go-to guy off the bench. Another draft that produced two key rotational players.
Then came 2023, where Stone landed my favorite pick: Amen Thompson at No. 4, and also drafted Cam Whitmore at No. 20. Amen’s upside is unreal, between the elite defense, uber athleticism, work rate, and constant offensive growth, he could become Houston’s best player at some point truly. Cam meanwhile, had an up-and-down rookie year but earned All-Rookie honors once he finally got minutes. This season though, he’s been in and out of the rotation and hasn’t really shown much improvement, sadly hinting that his time in Houston may be coming to an end.
In the 2024 NBA Draft, Stone took Reed Sheppard at No. 3. With a full rotation and a weak class, Sheppard hasn’t played much, so his impact is still to be determined if we’re being honest. Though he played well with extended minutes against the L.A. Clippers.
Overall here though, Rafael Stone has truly proven himself to be a great drafter, selecting multiple players who have a chance to be something really good in this league as well as taking five guys who are each in the rotation constantly and a large reason for the success of Houston this year. I would say this may be where Stone has done his best work as a GM.
Free Agency and Coaching
The summer of 2023 marked a true turning point for the Rockets. With years of tanking following them, the Rockets entered free agency with cap space and ambition. To say Stone struck quickly would be an understatement. Within the first week of FA, Houston added two veterans in Fred VanVleet (three years, $130M) and Dillon Brooks (four years, $80M). While those contracts raised a lot of eyebrows, both players have delivered during their time in Houston and have each been huge contributors to the team’s success in all aspects.
VanVleet has brought a lot of leadership and offensively has been as good a PG as Houston’s asked him to be. Brooks on the other hand, a meme during his Memphis days, became an All-Defense caliber contributor who’s embraced his role as a defensive stopper and flourished. These additions, paired with hiring Ime Udoka as head coach, sent a message: the Rockets were done being a bottom feeder.
Udoka, to his credit, has done himself a great job. He’s instilled structure, discipline, and given Houston a rough and gritty defensive identity. Stone’s trust in him is already paying off. The team finished .500 his first season,and this year are now the two seed in the West with over 50 games won. The team’s showed genuine development, especially on the defensive end, something that’s absolutely due to Udoka’s presence in the organization.
Assets
Beyond players, Stone has masterfully created one of the leagues best draft stockpiles. As it stands, the Rockets currently own:
- Three favorable/unprotected firsts from Phoenix (2025, 2027, 2029)
- The right to swap with BKN in 2027
- Their own 2028, 2029, 2030 firsts
- And a countless amount of second round picks
So positioning this with the current roster Houston has, there’s a very good chance that if Rafael Stone decided he wants to, the Rockets could land a superstar. Just a really scary thought for the rest of the league.
The Misses
To keep things honest, not every move has worked. Christian Wood, acquired in 2020, initially looked like a really good move, but never fit into a winning culture. His time was good for what it was, but Houston was playing it’s worst basketball maybe ever at that time, so there’s not much to really go off there. Stone eventually moved him for a late first rounder (which became Whitmore). The KPJ experiment was a low-risk, high-reward move that ultimately flamed out due to off-court issues. Though Porter showed flashes on the court, the long term bet didn’t really pan out for obvious reasons, and the organization ultimately moved on from him without batting an eye .
Drafting Josh Christopher over someone like say, Quentin Grimes also didn’t age too well, but I wouldn’t say that’s really been anything to be honest. And then there’s Jalen Green. While he’s got a lot of talent, he still hasn’t developed into the efficient star Houston hoped for. The jury is still out, but if Green stagnates, that could be something that you can look back on and think — What if they took someone else at two?
Still, in context of the full rebuild, those are minor strikes on an otherwise strong track record. And if Green fully develops into the player we hope he can be, it ends up as a hit.
Overall
Stone’s tenure as GM of the Houston Rockets has been one of many criticisms in the past, but recently, has disregarded many of those to be worth anything. What Stone has built in these five seasons has been incredible. Houston is finally back to a winning culture, they have great talent, they have a great head coach, and they have assets to make a large splash on the market if they wanted to. There’s not many teams that can say that at all, so for Houston to be able to, we all need to give Rafael Stone his flowers. He’s done a great job with what’s he’s helped the Rockets become.