Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone speaks to the Houston media after the 2023 NBA Draft where the Rockets took Amen Thompson (#4) and Cam Whitmore (#20)
@Houston Rockets
Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone speaks to the Houston media after the 2023 NBA Draft where the Rockets took Amen Thompson (#4) and Cam Whitmore (#20)
40 Comments
masterclass by stone
Amen and Cam hallelujah!
Alikan hitting hard with the question
well done, stone
Man what a night. I can't wait for free agency and the start of the season!
A+ draft by stone. Bring in a vet pg (Pat Bev), vet big (Brook Lopez) or a rim runner , and a shooter (Seth curry) to fill in the roster
Just gotta start trimming the roster and add vets.
Gotta make the tough decisions and possibly move on from KJ, Tate, Josh Christopher, tyty, garuba, and eventually i think Kpj is off the team in a season or two.
u did good stone now we gotta get sum guys in fa 🚀💯
S tier draft
I think they really wanna get both Thompson twins with the Dallas pick but Detroit had to ruin it
trade tillman.
An incompetent gm. No skills in signing stars, the idiot should resign.
👀
So the medical for Cam and his more introverted personality is what seems to have put some teams off.
I bet he went to Detroit and he didn’t like the environment too much. Indian said they didn’t like him that much either.
I like what coach Spin said about him. That he may be a quiet person but that he has a good character and personality. He mention an anecdote from HS.
I like Cam even more now.
And ofc I’m glad we got Amen. I didn’t want Miller at all. I can see Amén improving his shot and his passing skills is something we need on our team.
A+
And thanks Dave for the video and for hosting RW
I don't think some understand the steal that Cam whitmore is especially at 20. There was a point last year he was supposed to be top 3 pick but even this year he was supposed to go at least top 6.
Stone has done a good job for 3 straight years.
🖕🏻 the Spurs!
People giving him so much credit as if 90% of the population that has any idea who these guys are would also do the same thing in his situation he def did the right thing but it was 2 super obvious choices was hard to mess up so like maybe hop off his cock a lil
He is the best drafting GM I’ve ever witnessed in the rockets organization. Every year, he knows talent.
Let this man cook guys.
CRAZY LUCK LOL
A+
It's all player development and roster management now. Stone needs to focus on making these guys better, while Udoka helps them create a team identity. Identify your keepers that will establish your primary style of play keeping in mind you can't have 6 max salaries. I think your long term pieces that establish your identity are Sengun, Jabari, and Amen. Green needs to improve in defence and shore up the rest of his game to be included in that group but even if he does the Rockets will have to manage salaries at some point. The Rockets still need a long term solution in the front court behind Sengun but that can be addressed once they start winning. In the short run they can bring in Lopez. For a couple of seasons they can bring in Pat Bev as the tone setter and veteran voice. Playing time may be hard to come by for some of the younger guys as you try to maximize the value of KJ, KPJ, and Garuba. I like the idea of keeping the goon squad together where you just bring in a whole bunch of guys at once that have a completely different style of play to throw the other team out of rhythm. I don't care how many games they win to start the season. They need to focus on team chemistry and defence first. We will be good if Udoka can figure out how to put all these parts together. The raw talent is there but it needs developing and a system needs to be developed that can maximize it.
Cam Whitmore reminds me of Jimmy Butler! Rockets won the draft 3 years in a row lol 😂
4:11 😂😂
Egg head
LET'S GO TEAMROCKETS!
A great draft for my Rockets!
*Amen & Cam!!
#On-To-Summer-League…
🚀🏀💥👀👂🏽👍🏽💯
hlf uwon2
I like…Austin Reaves, Brook Lopez, and Van Fleet…..with Bruce Brown…if we lose on Reaves.
Pesin satan esnaf surati. Draft iyi gecmis.
Somebody should have asked Raphael if he tried to get Tyus Jones.
Glad we didn't trade up in the draft and lose picks or players just to get another kid. After free agency will be in better position for trading.
Yeah man praise the Lord! 😁
we are literally farming the league. why is every other team so bad at drafting lmao.
Not sold on Amen just yet. There are comparisons of his game to Westbrook. May he prove otherwise.
I'm On Record Sayin Stone Is The Truth & I Trust His Moves… 🤡 Wanna Keep Hatin On Him.. But Once Again Stone Comes Through 3rd Draft In A Row Plus James FRAUDEN Trade That 🚀 Won…. STONE For President 2024 🇺🇸
This man’s a jerk!
I was disappointed we didn’t get too three. But I would trade scoot or Miller for both amen+whitmore. This worked out better than expected. But if we got wemby/scoot/Miller + whitmore it woulda been an all time draft
AS A DIEHARD SPURS FAN I HATE TO ADMIT IT BUT THE ROCKETS AND MAVERICKS HAD THE BEST DRAFT OF THE ENTIRE DRAFT AND TH ROCKETS HAVING UDOKA AS THEIR HEAD COACH IS SCARY!!! AND I PREDICT THE ROCKETS AND MAVERICKS WILL BOTH BE TOP 4 PLAYOFF SEEDS!!! 🤦🏾♂️
GET A GOOD PLAYER KYRIE IRVING GO GET HIM NOW
THE KAT TO THE ROCKETS TRADE FOR HIM NOW STONER
Do you think Overtime Elite has the power to manipulate the draft? The fact that so many current players, team owners and even the former NBA commissioner are investors you can see how manipulating the draft could boost the private market valuations by A LOT potentially by +500mln. More than making up for the loss of revenue to a team.
Clearly this sort of reckless capitalism exists today in America but feels so wrong when in involves such great institutions like High School and College basketball.