Rockets general manager Rafael Stone spent nearly two weeks in Türkiye this summer, and the trip came with a clear purpose: time with All-Star center Alperen Sengun.
Stone told Matt Young of The Houston Chronicle that the visit was as rewarding personally as it was professionally.
“ It was a great experience,” Stone said on Friday. “ I loved the country. Truly beautiful, really nice, sweet people.”
Young reported that the trip stemmed from Sengun pushing Houston’s top basketball executive to show up more and communicate more directly around the team.
“ I thought it was important for me to do,” Stone said. “ We had some good conversations at the end of last year and part of it was him putting pressure on me that, ‘You have to communicate better.’
He said, ‘You’re always around, but I want to hear from you more: Good, bad or ugly.’ I said, ‘Alright, that’s fair.’
His first couple of years, I was always on him and I’ve tried to back off a little bit. He doesn’t need me yelling at him 24/7, but I took that in, so one of the things that came out of that was, ‘Hey, let me go spend some time with you in Türkiye.’
”
There was also some encouraging summer progress from Reed Sheppard, who has added muscle as he heads into his third NBA season. Young reported that the former third overall pick is now listed at 185 pounds in 2025/26.
Sheppard said the work has been a mix of getting older, eating right and staying committed in the weight room.
“ A lot of it is just getting older, but also eating good and staying in the weight room, doing what I need to do for my body, but at the same time, staying on the court and doing that stuff,” Sheppard said. “ I think just all-around, working out and getting stronger and staying in the weight room.”
Varun Shankar of The Houston Chronicle also took a close look at Stone’s offseason and handed out grades on the major moves. Marcus Smart’s two-year, $12.4MM deal drew the strongest review, earning an “A+.” Shankar also gave an “A” to the addition of veteran shooting coach Chip Engelland and an “A-” to Tari Eason’s five-year, $81.5MM restricted free agent contract.
Not every move landed as cleanly. Shankar assigned a “C+” to Houston’s decision to trade up for No. 31 overall pick Bruce Thornton, and he was even tougher on the team’s handling of Dorian Finney-Smith’s stint in Houston.
That move cost the Rockets three second-round picks to clear the veteran forward’s salary just a year after he signed a multiyear free-agent deal, and it earned Stone a “C-.” Overall, Shankar gave Houston a “B+” for its offseason work.
In Other News...
Rockets Just Raised The Stakes For Their Young Guards
With training camp approaching, Rafael Stone spent part of his media session laying out why the Rockets felt good about their offseason additions in Bogdan Bogdanovic and Marcus Smart. The general manager pointed to the way both veterans can help a young roster, stressing the value of shooting, experience and a harder edge as Houston tries to keep building on last seasons progress.
There is still a bigger roster puzzle in front of them, though, and it sits right at the point of attack. Houston has three guards whose skills overlap in places, and the challenge now is figuring out how the minutes and responsibilities are going to be divided once the games start to matter. For a team trying to balance development with winning, the answer could shape more than just the backcourt rotation. [Read more 🡒]
Fred VanVleets Return Still Leaves One Big Rockets Question
Fred VanVleets comeback has become one of the more closely watched developments around the Rockets as he works his way back from the right ACL and meniscus injury he suffered during training last summer. He has been ramping up his workouts as he gets closer to full health, and coach Ime Udoka has sounded upbeat about where things stand, even as Houston continues to share practice footage that suggests the veteran guard is moving in the right direction.
What remains unclear is how the Rockets will handle him once he is fully cleared. There still is not a firm answer on whether VanVleet will be back in the opening-night lineup, and the team also has to weigh whether a reserve role might make more sense, especially with Reed Sheppard part of the conversation. For Houston, the recovery itself is encouraging, but the rotation wrinkle is the real decision still hanging over camp. [Read more 🡒]
Rockets Just Made Their Feelings On Amen Thompson Impossible To Ignore
Amen Thompsons place in Houston was never really in question after the Rockets locked him into a five-year, $208 million fully guaranteed extension, but the size of the commitment still says plenty about how the organization sees him. For a team trying to sort out its long-term core, Thompson has quickly become more than just a promising young piece. He is now part of the framework the Rockets appear ready to build around, alongside Alperen Sengun.
The bigger takeaway is how strongly Houston has identified Thompson as a centerpiece while other parts of the roster remain fluid. Veterans such as Kevin Durant still sit in an uncertain spot, but Thompsons trajectory is clearly different. Inside the building, the belief in his value goes well beyond conventional upside talk, and the extension only reinforces that the Rockets are treating him like a player they plan to keep at the center of everything. [Read more 🡒]