NBA Insider Commends Rockets' 'Incredible Offseason'

Houston Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone stepped into an undesirable situation taking over as the successor for Daryl Morey. The rookie front office executive was forced to trade the franchise’s best player of the last quarter century, who had just been named an MVP finalist in the previous season.

You'd typically prefer to have an experienced person leading the charge of a restart.

Fast forward four years and Stone agreed to terms with the franchise on a multi-year extension. 

He wasn't necessarily flawless -- Stephen Silas, Josh Christopher, TyTy Washington, Daniel Theis, Usman Garuba, Kevin Porter Jr. -- but no one is perfect. But he was able to lift the franchise out of the doldrums of the Western Conference. 

And they finished with the second seed, with a nucleus of players that he drafted.

Jalen Green, Amen Thompson, Alperen Sengun, Jabari Smith Jr., Tari Eason. All draft successes, which isn't easy in the crapshoot that is the NBA Draft.

No player is a sure thing. 

The Rockets' 52-30 season was a monumental success, considering how they fared in the prior three seasons before Ime Udoka was hired (59-177), but a first-round postseason exit isn't how they envisioned it ending.

Their next move was to go big-game hunting in the offseason, much like Stone's predecessor Daryl Morey was known for doing. Under Morey, the Rockets constantly went after the biggest stars annually. 

Amar'e Stoudemire, Chris Bosh, Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James. 

To name a few.

These Rockets reeled in Kevin Durant, who they'd previously targeted, for the small price of the 10th pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Dillon Brooks, and Jalen Green.

The Rockets then began adding depth pieces like Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela, allowing the Rockets to continue to crash the glass and defend at a high level -- like Udoka wants to play.

Stone and the Rockets' brainpower were cited as one of five teams that aced the offseason by Yardbarker's Pat Heery.

"Is it possible to have too many good players on a roster? Seriously, the Rockets probably have the deepest roster in the NBA after their incredible offseason that saw them trade for Kevin Durant without giving up any of their main core pieces or future draft capital, steal Dorian Finney-Smith from the Lakers, sign Clint Capela, sign Josh Okogie and re-sign Steven Adams and Fred VanVleet to reasonable extensions. 

After finishing with the fourth-best defensive rating in the league last season, they should be even more stout on that next season. So long as Durant stays relative healthy, and at least a few of their young studs like Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason make a leap, they should also significantly improve upon their 13th-rated offense. 

The Rockets made the jump from being a happy-to-be-there playoff team to a serious title contender."

With the Rockets' youth and depth, it's difficult to argue with Heery.