Rumors

Varun Shankar: Rafael Stone, asked if Reed Sheppard is Houston's starting point guard down the road. "My expectation for him is he should be. I think he should be a really good one. I think that's his expectation for himself as well."

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Stone said he doesn’t believe in “going to get a point guard because they’re a point guard.” He explained that rather than acquire a strong ballhandler and passer who is a weak defender and shooter, the Rockets would rather cobble the point guard position together. “No one guards (some point guards) after they make the initial pass and then on the other end, they’re just a sieve,” he said. “And those players do exist in the NBA. There’s quite a few of them and they’re available. But I didn’t think that would make us better on the whole.”

Houston Chronicle

“I don’t see (team governor) Tilman (Fertitta) ever wanting to take a step back that isn’t strategic,” Stone said. “If we weren’t (in the tax), it’s because of some opportunity to do something else that is basketball related.”

Houston Chronicle

Varun Shankar: Stone: "The offseason plan isn't, '[FVV/Adams are] coming back, it's fine.' "I think it's much more looking at our young guys and saying, 'You guys need to improve.'" Stone noted that the young guys showed improvement throughout the 25-26 season.

x.com

Varun Shankar: Rafael Stone said doesn't feel adding a PG for PG's sake is helpful. Doesn't want someone who just gets you into sets / isn't a threat after the initial pass / can't defend or shoot.

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Varun Shankar: Rafael Stone and Ime Udoka both say this team should have won more games. Stone called the season frustrating. Didn't say firmly if team would make big moves but said even if HOU doesn't, expects growth from young players (mentioned Tari Eason, Jabari Smith, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, Reed Sheppard) to lead to addnl success.

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At this juncture, there are no plans to move on from either Udoka or general manager Rafael Stone, sources told Yahoo Sports. Ownership has remained steadfast in its belief in a three-pronged leadership sector because of a combination of the turnaround in recent years and consecutive 50-win seasons, the latter of which was marked by major injuries — resulting in confidence from the top down.

Yahoo! Sports

NBA Communications: The voting panel for the 2025-26 NBA Basketball Executive of the Year Award consisted of basketball executives from NBA teams. Complete voting results ⬇️

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You said after the trade deadline that there were moments because of those injuries that you thought “is this just not our year” but that the team’s performance at that point made you think that wasn’t the case. A couple months after that, how do you feel about the comment and this team’s upside? Rafael Stone: I regret the comment because I’m aware enough to know that multiple people have taken it out of context and used it extraordinarily inappropriately. Used it in the opposite of the way it was meant. Shame on them. But so, because of that, I regret it. The concept behind it I still agree with, which is that this team has been super competitive all year, and I’m happy for them and happy with the overall group’s progress, and excited to see what we can do in the playoffs.

Houston Chronicle

With the lack of continuity that this group had and the importance you place on it, do you think that the core of this team showed enough for you to say next year we want to see what we look like with Fred and Steven healthy? Or do you expect larger changes? Rafael Stone: I really like our team. When it’s fully healthy, I’d love to see it, but we didn’t. Someone in my shoes should never say I’m going to make huge changes or I’m not going to. There are teams I suppose that have run their course where players are older, maybe a reset is needed. I guess that was the first year of my tenure. But since then, you do what the market dictates and the opportunities presented to yourself. But I like this team. I think we’ve seen growth throughout the course of the year with individual players getting better.

Houston Chronicle

How do you feel like Amen Thompson and Reed Sheppard performed at point guard? Rafael Stone: Great. I think they did really, really well. Especially Amen, with respect to the "at point guard," when he was on the court, we were really an elite team all year. With Reed, I’m just incredibly happy with his progress. I think he’s just done exceptionally well. A lot of it though is he has room for more growth than Amen does. They both have a lot of room for growth. But I think Reed took really important steps and is becoming the dynamic player we thought we could see. We need more consistency. He’s got to really shore up his weaknesses but I think both had great years and I’m very happy for both of them, that they got the reps that they had.

Houston Chronicle

When the dust finally settled on the 2025 trade deadline, and after so much speculation that he might be on the move, Durant was still in Phoenix. While Jones was still in the top front office spot at the time — he would later be named a Suns ‘adviser’ before leaving in July for a job as the head of basketball operations in the league office — – league sources say Bartelstein led the way in communications with teams that were interested in Durant. But the discussions had been held without any sort of direct involvement of Durant himself, which — after they learned that he wasn’t pleased with the prospect of a reunion — ultimately compelled the Golden State Warriors to back away from a deal. The Rockets, however, didn’t show any interest in Durant until the 11th hour. “It was ‘No, no, no,’ (from Houston) until the day of the trade deadline last year, when (Rockets general manager Rafael Stone) called me at 4 in the morning,” Bartelstein said. “(But) it wasn’t the right package. It wasn’t as good as the package we got. That was the really hard part for me and Mat at that time.”

New York Times

Varun Shankar: Rafael Stone: "Given the number of injuries we've taken, one thing we did look at was ... 'Is this just not our year?'" Said he feels Rockets had some of the worst injury look in the year. Praises Udoka/players and notes that record and underlying stats don't reflect injuries.

x.com

Brooks was proud to have been a part of the Rockets' turnaround over the previous two seasons and had no problem with Houston's decision to include him in a trade for a Hall of Famer who filled their glaring need for a go-to guy. "[Stone] was telling me the whole time that they didn't want to have my name in it," Brooks said. "They wanted to keep me to build more and more to that franchise. But overall, when you got a guy like Kevin Durant, you cannot pass up on it. And they're doing well. They haven't fell off -- like Memphis did."

ESPN