So, we can get straight to the quote from Rafael Stone, Houston Rockets general manager. Depending on how you want to look at it, it can say whatever you want it to:
Rafael Stone on draft capital, potential upgrades: “The business we’re in, nobody’s untouchable. But we deeply value everyone on our roster. We have those picks, we accumulated them so we could draft guys or upgrade our current roster. We’ll see what makes the most sense.”
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) May 6, 2025
That isn’t anything massively special. It’s mostly that kind of GM speak you get when they don’t want to tell you anything but have to make a media appearance. That’s most GM appearances, actually. The more they say, the more of their strategy they reveal. Their hope is to make the media go away while saying whatever they need to keep team morale high, maintain whatever leverage they have against other teams, and make the presser stop as soon as possible.
So in that sense, yeah. Not much was said here. Stone likes their players. Strong position going forward. Everyone matters. We’re not making decisions now. Blah blah blah.
The Rockets are saying "Nobody is untouchable" but do they really mean it?
If anyone is on the table, then the Rockets are in great position to make a move this offseason. The popular targets in common discussion are Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Adding a former MVP to a two-seed in the Western Conference might be exactly what they need to put them over the top. A true No. 1 option.
But, keep in mind, something is being sent out as well. Houston fans might hope for Jalen Green from what I can tell, or Fred Van Vleet, but it could easily be a Şengün or a Thompson if it comes down to it. I love Amen as much as anyone, but that’s Giannis over there, man. He’s only 30.
So who knows what the Rockets do from here. At the very least, we know their higher-ups are contemplating various courses of action. Maybe they don’t shake too much up. A young team needs to take their knocks. Maybe the entire team is different next year.
We have time to get to that. Right now, there’s playoff basketball to watch.