“Very good at his job”? Can’t agree with that so far. Competent? Yeah I would say so, but “very good” is like top 20% and he isn’t there.. he is in the middle thus far.
The issues run deeper I’m afraid. It increasingly feels like between Udoka and Stone their basketball feel is quite bad. Add to that the obvious character issues, most glaringly any capacity to admit any fault and take responsibility, and you have a recipe for a disaster in your hands. I think it was a no brainer even before all this that Stone was simply not equipped to run a rebuild. He doesn’t have the connections or the credentials top managers do. Those wouldn’t be insurmountable though if it wasn’t for those other issues - alas the whole combination is nasty.
I was quite puzzled when Fertitta went with Stone after Morey left for Philly.....he could have had a fresh start.....
He isn't really competent in areas like PR, a GM has to at least avoid PR blunders like that or the KPJ thing..... These days a GM also has to take public speaking courses IMHO.....you can't get by with just standard sentences. This isn't the 90s or early 00s.
If FVV are two of your five best players, you have issues as a team. I am sick of hearing Stone cry about injuries. Stone traded for a 37 year old, KD with a lengthy history of injuries. The Vegas line was 51 games on the over under for KD this year. He then resigned a center with a terrible injury track record and that didn’t handle minutes well. Adams was a well known injury risk. He signed DFS knowing he was injured and there were loud whispers around the league about his injuries. Stone knew there were issues with Tari Eason’s health going into this year. The only “surprise” is FVV and he was 32 years old and has a LOT of mileage on his body, having averaged 35 minutes a game for half a decade. Stone and the Rockets traded for/signed players with usage/injury issues. Complaining about injuries when you knew the concerns is insincere. The Rockets are lucky that KD didn’t miss half the season. Also the Rockets have a chance to win a playoff series because the Lakers two best players are injured and they are without 55 points a game in offense.
Stone was already making decisions before Morey left - which is part of why Morey left. Stone already had great influence with the owner.
I do not think a powerful guy should be there in this position it should have been a guy that is up and coming .....same as young Morey was.
And it doesn’t help that the owner is detached from the team and involved in politics while leaving the team in his son’s hands.
I would go farther: He is near the top of the bottom third! He isn't totally incompetent. He can draft with the consensus! He can sign free agents who the majority of other front offices generally like (which bites him in the ass when they're wrong, like with DFS). His risk-aversion is a fatal flaw. The average GM will take some risks if the upside pencils out. The only risk Stone will take is injury risk; except for character risk, which he ignores completely, so it's at best a wash. This caps his potential at exactly average, and puts his downside below that. The best GMs are willing to get burned (Presti has multiple times, including with Harden and Sengun), but they're smart enough that it's rare, and on average over a long period they end up winning over every other team.
He is not a bad executive for sure, that is why I have no problem giving him a raise and promoting him to a job that does not involve getting his hands dirty..... He is someone who should be in some of the meetings, but he should NOT do pressers and he should not do trades. The thing with Presti, yes, Harden is a big one but in retrospect Harden's off the court strip joint lifestyle does not fit with the Thunder, and Sengün is a great offensive hub but the Draft has shown they can get a minor hub who can also play faster...... Jaylin Williams developed into a fine back up passing big and who is athletic!
I don't think Fertitta understood basketball operation, probably still doesn't. If he bought a business that he had no experience in, he probably would keep the main management simply because it's easier and less costly. Just my guess.
This is false. Only decisions/influence Stone had during Morey's era were structuring contracts. Stone didn't recruit players...
When Luka plays against the Rockets, he always has an expression of unbridled glee. It's like the Rockets game plan is, "Just let Luka score, we'll (try to) stop everyone else." And all your comments on Stone, spot on. The one thing about Stone's comments is how he makes things worse. He blames others for their interpretation of his defeatist comment:
What I got from that interview is that Alpi and Reed are on the outs. While cupcake and Amen Udoka walk on water and can do no wrong. Everything he said matches the eye test.
The biggest thing if he comes back in time will be finding ways to get Amen guarding Luka 1-on-1 and not allow Luka to get advantageous switches or be forced to double team, which Luka would pick apart. As long as it's Amen guarding him, he does a good job of making Luka take difficult jump shots. Sometimes he'll hit those, but it's still our best bet
I don’t think stone does well with media or he lacks the basic knowledge of what to say and not to say
Post of the year, DROPPING TRUTH BOMBS everywhere. And exactly why I have said lean into the youngsters, stop trying to add OLD broken down key pieces and hope they hold up, one - sure....but 2 or 3 and you are done as a roster, no one else is doing that....did you see San Antonio going....OH ****, we need some veterans, or OKC??? NO, they got ballers let em play. We should be running teams into the ground with our youth, instead we are trying to utilize a stand at the FT line and shoot middies.......and someone who just doesn't play defense at all. People say Reed and Sengun struggle together but KD is a terrible defender, just HORRID, never helps, ever. DD
