Houston Rockets: Rafael Stone is using Daryl Morey’s playbook

The Houston Rockets lost arguably the league’s best general manager, Daryl Morey, but haven’t skipped a beat. Rafael Stone, Morey’s protege and replacement as the Rockets’ general manager, has been utilizing Daryl Morey’s playbook to help rebuild the Rockets.

What made Morey one of the league’s best general managers were his abilities to unearth gems through the draft, hoard and use assets, and sign players through free agency. During his time as general manager, almost no executive executed as many trades as Morey.

How Daryl Morey kept building winners

The constant wheeling and dealing may have caused the Rockets’ chemistry to suffer, but their perpetual status as a contender over his tenure indicates that those concerns are not borne out of reality. Stone, like Morey, has kicked off his tenure making a flurry of trades, and it appears that he knows how to win one.

The Rockets with Morey also had a penchant for unearthing quality players late in the draft and were exceptional at finding value through free agency. Stone has continued this legacy and appears to be adept at finding players that others have overlooked.

Finally, Morey’s ability to wheel and deal was built around always having roster flexibility through movable contracts and future assets to move for players that can help the team win right away. Once again, Stone seems to have the nose for value and asset collection that allowed Morey to consistently have the ammunition to make the team better.

Stone hasn’t yet made it to his first trade deadline and he already is using Daryl Morey’s playbook to build the Rockets up for a bright future. Stone knows how to build a roster because he learned from the best, these are the ways that Stone has utilized Morey’s playbook to prime the Rockets for a return to contender status.

Next: The Trades