Yea this is just hogwash. The narrative when Jalen was developing earlier this year, was "Fire Stone!!" simply because Rockets media said he spent our #3 pick on a bust. The risk a GM takes with every move can get you fired. He inherited Daryl Morey's mess in fat Harden’s trade demand, traded him per Harden’s request, and was CRITICIZED for only taking draft picks which turned into what we're seeing the results of now. Allowed to tank for 3 years? Lol. The average GM doesn't put together a product like this after 3 years of rebuilding. We have the most unappreciative fanbase in the nba
When has a GM in modern history ever been able to trade away every piece of a contender, including a generational talent like James Harden and then allowed to tank 3 years in a row, and then have the lotto balls also give him a #2,#3,and #4 pick in consecutive years? This was an unprecedented gift of opportunity. You just state your opinions which is fine, but lets try to actually back it up with real data for comparison. Give some examples of this ever happening. Any other team would notice burning 3 late draft picks on TyTy, Garuba, JayGup, etc. It didn't matter to us because we were asset rich. Just providing an example of why people may not look at Stone the same way as other GMs like Morey or Presti, because they are seemingly able to create something out of nothing. When you evaluate a GM, you evaluate what they did with what they were given, not just what the roster looks like at any given point. I actually agree with Stone, he said not to judge him until like 2030, and I think there is truth to that. I don't think we can really judge him for a few more years, maybe 2027-28. I am likely in the minority here, but my perception of Stone has improved not just because Jalen has had a very good month, but the less obvious moves are starting to look better. Jock Landale for example stepping up is a move that now looks good that didn't before. I put more value in the less obvious moves, the ones that take more thought and skill to envision.
It could be worse, Minnesota was in a similar situation after trading away Kevin Garnett in 2008. In the following 4 years, they held the #3 (2008), #s 5 and 6 (2009), #4 (2010), and #2 (2011) picks. The Results? 2008: Drafted OJ Mayo, but traded him on draft night for Kevin Love. A good result, but missed out on Westbrook at #4. 7/10. 2009: Drafted Ricky Rubio and Johnny Flynn with back to back picks, right before Stephen Curry went at #7. 1/10 2010: Drafted Wesley Johnson right before Demarcus Cousins at #5. 1/10 2011: Drafted Derrick Williams right before Bradley Beal at #3. 1/10 5 lottery picks, 3 in the top 5, resulting in one All-NBA player and four busts. That is about as bad as a rebuild can go. I'll applaud Stone for not wasting a top lottery pick on a bust, albeit it was looking pretty dicey with Jalen for a bit.
Every piece of a contender? The Rox weren't contenders anymore when Stone took the job, that's why Harden and WB wanted to bail they sucked ass already. WB had negative value and was only tradable for John Wall. Harden was wearing a fatsuit and throwing balls at teammates, his value was at an all time low. Rox had the oldest team in the league and worst of all Morey traded future picks and swaps away. Stone deserves kudos for rebuilding in just 3 yrs other than OKC other teams take way longer to rebuild. Look at the Spurs they started rebuilding even earlier than the Rockets but 4 yrs in they still suck ass despite lucking into Wemby. That's the normal timeline for a rebuilding team.
Lol. How long were teams like Sacramento, Knicks, Grizzlies, Chicago & Orlando terrible? Plus just because you're tanking doesn't mean you're going to make the right decisions. It's a big gamble, mixed with great basketball insight. You act like the Harden trade demand was a privilege to Stone. Stone's first few days in office his 2 superstars are requesting trades & you're saying that helped Stone? This is delusional
You avoided answering the question completely. Did any of those teams/GMs trade away an entire contending roster including an MVP caliber player and then go for the worst record 3 years in a row and then happen to get #2,#3, and #4 picks from the lotto draws? Again, as mentioned it is about opportunity and the Knicks, Kings, Bulls have always tried to be average teams by signing free agents, their owner didnt let them tank completely for 3 years. Its not an opinion, its not delusional because it is simple fact. The error you are making is that you are comparing a bottom feeder team that was created and then the progression to 11th seed now. You have to account for where the team was prior to tanking, because the team had a ton of assets to begin with as a contending team. Every single team you listed not only did they not have a James Harden type asset to begin with along with contending team role players, but they did not get #2,#3, and #4 picks in consecutive years. This obviously matters because when you celebrate Tari Eason and Cam Whitmore, understand that we started with James Harden and Eric Gordon + PJ Tucker, assets that carried value in the league. Stone himself said not to give him credit for a few years, you are delusional if you really think he is a top GM as of now. Going from a contending team to 11th seed in 4 years does not scream elite GM. The Harden trade so far has net the team Tari Eason, and a top 10 pick this draft, we won't know if we won that trade until next year. You bring up Orlando, but they made the jump from where we were to 5th seed in east. OKC was at the bottom of the rankings and now at the top. If you really want to compare, check out what OKC got for Paul George, they got a boatload of first round picks and an MVP level player back. OKC is the closest comparison to what Houston started with (Harden and PG were comparable assets). They got back 5 first round picks, 2 pick swaps, SGA, and Gallinari for PG. They pretty much got an additional first rounder and an MVP caliber player back, that is an elite GM, and you are asking why Stone doesn't get the same credit as Presti? That is comical.
