Same as old boss
New general manager holding true to his promise of aggressive action
Like Morey, Stone willing to swing for the fences.
The more things change — owner, coach, general manager, James Harden sidekick — the more the Rockets remain the Rockets.
Rafael Stone has not been general manager long enough to attend a game as the new boss of the basketball side of Red — check that, Columbia Blue — Nation. But with his deal Wednesday tomove Russell Westbrook for John Wall and a first-round pick, and really with many of his moves since succeeding Daryl Morey, Stone has shown the familiar tendency to swing for the fences.
From the all-out chase of Christian Wood, coming off one breakthrough season, to the addition of thrice-injured DeMarcus Cousins to the roster-altering move for Wall after nearly two years of rehab, Stone has been fearless, much as he promised when he said he would be “extremely aggressive.”
There was risk involved in each move. Dealing Robert Covington largely to strengthen the Rockets’ chances to get Wood was chancy. Spending $41 million over three years is a gamble that Wood will prove last season in Detroit was no aberration. Cousins, even on a one-year minimum contract, will need to show he can bounce back from his injuries. But the deal for Wall, given its potential to influence how Harden will view the Rockets’ championship chances in the next two seasons, is the most vivid risk/reward gamble of the bunch.
The Rockets can be, maybe even should be, better than they were last season if things go right. But that stacks several “ifs” on top of one another and could determine if Harden will be on board to let it play out.
The Rockets’ plan to convince Harden they can be championship contenders seems to be to become championship contenders.
That feels a little like last season’s plan to kick the can down the road on Mike D’Antoni’s future. The Rockets figured winning a championship would work things out for all involved.
This, however, is not the same as buying lottery tickets and calling it a retirement plan. The Rockets can do something about these goals.
Their latest offseason blockbuster was not just about appeasing Westbrook, who never was comfortable sharing the backcourt and ball with Harden. The Rockets made the move not to excise a problem but to get better.
That would be predicated first on Wall’s being healthy and regaining his athleticism after surgeries on a heel, knee and Achilles. He seemed to be losing a step before he went out, but the heel issues could explain that. The question will be about how well he comes back from the Achilles surgery. The Rockets also could have had questions about Westbrook’s health and ability to maintain his incredible athleticism through his contract, but he is not coming off Achilles surgery.
For this move to make the Rockets better, Wall will have to be much of what he was. But he doesn’t have to be spectacular with the Rockets. That’s Harden’s job.
The Rockets have been their best during the Harden era when his backcourt running mate was willing to expertly and efficiently play off him when they shared the floor and run the offense when Harden sits. Chris Paul was not the “point god” of before and since, but his ability to star in the best-supportingactor role helped the Rockets become a 65-win team that had a championship in sight before his hamstring interfered.
If the Rockets can get Wall to be the 18-8-5 guy Paul was that season, they should be thrilled. While Wall never had Westbrook’s level of explosiveness, even before the injuries, the Rockets might not be expecting him to be all of what he was. But he might not have to be. He should be a better fit for their needs and roster (again, if the other gambles pay off) than Westbrook.
Westbrook was sensational for 2½ months, the most efficient stretch of his career. But the Rockets and their former MVP guards could not help but notice they were never at their best or even close at the same time.
Harden was spectacular to start the season, threatening for a while to average 40 points per game. Teams began sending midcourt traps at him, the sort of defenses longtime NBA minds said they had never before seen. Harden slumped, and Westbrook took off.
They came to understand they could not be their best together. Their friendship, which remains, prevented them from publicly pointing fingers in each other’s direction, but both knew they and the Rockets would be better off with a move.
Wall won’t be confused for Ray Allen even in comparison to Westbrook, but he has been a good enough shooter — in his past five seasons, he made 36.8 percent of his corner 3s, and in his most recent full season, he made 37.1 percent of his 3s overall — that opposing defenses cannot ignore him when he doesn’t have the ball, as they had with Westbrook.
The Rockets became extremely easy to gameplan against, a seeming roadblock to advancing in the postseason. If Wall can be what he was, that should not be a problem. Like Paul in 2017-18, he should be a better point guard for Eric Gordon. He should help the Rockets keep a center on the floor and in the paint, something they could not do while wanting to create room for Westbrook to attack the rim.
As long as the Rockets are hoping for “ifs,” they also could hope Wall regains his abilities defensively, the bigger if in a comeback from an Achilles injury. Wall was an alldefensive team selection. Westbrook was far from it.
Though Harden will never say anything that could be viewed as disparaging of Westbrook, one has to think the Rockets made sure he was pleased with the move. He and Wall also are friends. Wall would fly to town to support Harden’s “JH-Town” charity weekend. About the best the Rockets could hope for is that Harden will have an open mind. They at least have built a path to be better.
That is far from a sure thing. It’s a gamble Stone was willing to take and the latest example that for all that has changed, in that way the Rockets have not.