The Dickerson experiment has failed

Corrosion · Mar 20, 2026 at 3:06 AM

carl_herrera said: ↑

Agree with a lot of that, but my point is: I don’t think Stone as a “fall guy” even makes sense for these kinds of decisions - Stone is already on a path to not being the lead basketball decisionmaker anyway; that’ll be Patrick Fertitta.

So the model of Stone being on the hook for outcomes is wrong - he’s probably getting judged on a) how well he executes transactions and b) how much the Fertittas like him / how loyal he’s perceived to be. My impression is that Stone indexes highly on both.

There’s not going to be a new real GM if Stone weren’t here anymore. Just somebody to do the grunt work and execute transactions for Patrick and be the frontman “GM” in name only. So to the Fertittas, that might as well be Stone.
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Fair enough, I don't disagree.

daywalker02 · Mar 20, 2026 at 3:19 AM

Stephen_A · Mar 20, 2026 at 5:36 AM

carl_herrera said: ↑

Agree with a lot of that, but my point is: I don’t think Stone as a “fall guy” even makes sense for these kinds of decisions - Stone is already on a path to not being the lead basketball decisionmaker anyway; that’ll be Patrick Fertitta.

So the model of Stone being on the hook for outcomes is wrong - he’s probably getting judged on a) how well he executes transactions and b) how much the Fertittas like him / how loyal he’s perceived to be. My impression is that Stone indexes highly on both.

There’s not going to be a new real GM if Stone weren’t here anymore. Just somebody to do the grunt work and execute transactions for Patrick and be the frontman “GM” in name only. So to the Fertittas, that might as well be Stone.
Click to expand...

Much like any NBA organization, the owner/governor signs off on all acquisitions and trades. The structure is the same since Morey reportedly. Stone and his team comes up with trade proposals or free agent and draft targets etc with the help of the scouting team, coaches, and other members of management and general counsel. And yes Pat Fertita sometimes gets involved in these ideas and discussions. If T Fertita doesn’t like the way management is ran he could very well opt to replace Stone and his team. There’s nothing to say this isn’t in the cards. It’s just not likely at this time. Maybe after another year of failure perhaps.

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The Dickerson experiment has failed

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