The Houston Rockets have had plenty of drastic organizational changes throughout the years, as do most teams. That’s just the nature of the NBA. When things aren’t working out, it’s time to make a change. Stars come and go, switching teams at different points in the careers.
Coaches are often the first to get scapegoated though, with general managers following soon after. The Rockets GM, however, might not have much to worry about in terms of job security.
Rafael Stone has been with the organization since 2005, which is remarkable in today’s landscape. More than two decades with a single team is unheard of nowadays, regardless of what role that person has.
He was there for the entire Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming era. From Rafer Alston and Dikembe Mutombo, to seeing Aaron Brooks win a Most Improved Player award. He stuck around for the short, but admirable year of Kyle Lowry, Kevin Martin, and Luis Scola, too.
Do you remember Chase Budinger at the 2012 Dunk Contest? Rafael Stone does, because he was part of the team. He saw them trade for James Harden eight months later, and probably had a role in that trade, dealing with general counsel duties at the time.
If you’re curious what that means, Wikipedia says he dealt with, “all legal matters related to the franchise and its arena, including player contracts, trades, business transactions, and concerts.” So relatively vague and all-encompassing, but he’s been involved for quite a while.
He’s been with the team longer than their current majority owner, Tillman Fertitta, who purchased the team back in 2017. It’s safe to say Stone has built himself pretty good relationships in Houston, and that proved to pay off a few years later.
He finally got a more official sounding job title in October of 2020, becoming the general manager at the end of the Harden era. Just three months later, he was tasked with trading the pouting superstar, marking the start of the rebuild that is currently still in progress, more or less.
That’s sort of the problem, though. It’s been years and we’re still not sure what direction this team is going in. The years of tanking didn’t result in any surefire superstars to build a franchise around. The acquisition of Kevin Durant was nice, but it ended with a less successful playoff run than the year before.
Rafael Stone didn’t make any major moves this summer either, so fans are still questioning what the plan is moving forward. We got news that Amen Thompson is the only untouchable player on the team, but the roster doesn’t support the idea that they’re building around him.
All of these lingering questions have plenty of fans calling for Stone’s job, hoping that he’s on the hotseat. Unfortunately for them, I think his longstanding relationship with this organization will give him a whole lot of leeway. I don’t expect to see him going anywhere anytime soon.