Rafael

Stone

In his report, Wojnarowski noted that while the Suns have said they plan to hold onto Booker and Durant and attempt to win with their current group, that could change next season. Houston reportedly wants to acquire one of those two stars, and they’ve begun obtaining some assets to make it happen. In three separate deals, the Rockets acquired Phoenix’s 2027 pick from the Nets (via the Suns acquiring KD from Brooklyn), the right to swap the Houston/Oklahoma City 2025 first with Phoenix’s 2025 first, the more favorable 2029 first from Dallas and Phoenix, and the right to swap its 2029 first for the less favorable Dallas first and Phoenix first. That’s a lot of picks, and it could eventually prove enticing to the Suns, given the amount of draft capital they’ve given up to put together their current roster. However, Houston could also use the acquired picks to make a different play as they attempt to fast-track their rebuild. These moves won’t impact fantasy basketball right now, but it will be something to be mindful of as the 2024-25 season plays out.

Despite having the worst record in the league, the Rockets fell two spots in the lottery, leaving them with the third pick. If they don’t make a trade, they’ll end up with one of the top three prospects in Jabari Smith, Chet Holmgren, or Paolo Banchero. However, the ability to get one of those three makes the pick very appealing to teams looking to trade up for a big.

Houston finally got a trade involving James Harden done on Thursday, with the perennial All-Star being moved to the Nets as part of a four-team deal. And the way in which it happened offered some insight into how Stone will run things as the Rockets’ lead executive. “It’s definitely accurate that I worked with James [to find a deal]... We do our best to work with our players and this was not an exception,” Stone said on Sunday. Houston was able to replenish its surplus of draft picks, which had been drained considerably by the acquisition of Russell Westbrook prior to the 2019-20 season, with Thursday’s trade. And they’ve also added Victor Oladipo, who will be a free agent this offseason. If the partnership works out, Houston would have another key building block to work with. If not, the Rockets would gain welcome salary cap space next summer.

This could be part of the reason why both Russell Westbrook and James Harden appear to be fed up with playing for the Rockets, and it’s also being reported that Harden has felt that management has left him out of major team decisions. Houston does have some leverage at the moment, in that both Westbrook and Harden are under contract for at least another two seasons, so they aren’t in any rush to send them packing without getting major assets in return.

Morey’s decision to move on marks the official end of an era in Houston, even more so than Mike D’Antoni no longer serving as head coach. Under Morey’s direction the Rockets went with smaller lineups headlined by James Harden, even going far enough this season to either trade (Clint Capela) or waive (Isaiah Hartenstein) the only true centers on the roster. According to Wojnarowski, Houston plans to promote executive VP of basketball operations Rafael Stone to GM, with Eli Witus being promoted to assistant GM. Stone’s first order of business will be to hire a new head coach.