the same front office who operated like a tanking team last year at the deadline and punted the season this year at the deadline. sure. Stone only knows the number of 2 GMs: the one in Phoenix and the one in BK. I promise you half the league's GMs don't know his name.
3. Houston Rockets July ranking: 4 We are splitting the tiniest of hairs when it comes to Houston vs. San Antonio. The Spurs are having a better season than the Rockets. Their 2026 offseason is looking better than Houston's as well. The only substantial change in either team's long-term fortunes since our July edition is that Reed Sheppard, a draft pick who showed little in his rookie season, appears to be a good deal more valuable in his second season. Of course, we could ding Houston for taking him one spot in front of where San Antonio selected the superior Stephon Castle, but Castle, given Amen Thompson's place in Houston, wouldn't have made much sense for the Rockets anyway. So, why did Houston jump San Antonio here? To be blunt, I don't believe I weighed San Antonio's lottery luck heavily enough in July. To be absolutely clear: I am firmly of the belief that you can be lucky and smart. The Spurs are -- for reasons we'll get into more in their blurb—both. But we can't ignore the reality that the foundation of their success right now hinged on the lottery. If they win a championship in the near future, that will be the single biggest reason why. If Houston wins a championship in the near future, it will have less to do with luck. The Rockets have ultimately been slightly bolder in charting their organizational course. They kickstarted the offensive rebounding revolution sweeping across the NBA this season. Alperen Sengun is, by a country mile, the best non-lottery pick either team has made, and in the long run, I suspect Tari Eason is better than any other non-lottery pick San Antonio has made as well. Both Houston and San Antonio made blockbuster trades within the past year. Houston paid less for Kevin Durant than San Antonio did for De'Aaron Fox. Fox is a good deal younger than Durant, but it's notable that Houston convinced Durant to take a pay cut whereas Fox insisted on the full max after forcing his way to the Spurs. Right now, he's justifying it. It's worth wondering if his speed-reliant style will age particularly well, and with two other young, star guards in the pipeline, the Spurs may one day wish they'd negotiated a bit harder with Fox. The Rockets appear to be, by far, the NBA's toughest negotiators. They got Sengun to take less than the max. Dorian Finney-Smith got only two guaranteed seasons from them. Clint Capela took a pay cut and a role reduction to come to Houston. Jabari Smith's deal descends after the first year, making it a bit easier to trade if needed. This is a real point in Rafael Stone's favor. His single best trait as an executive is how effectively he manages contracts. If there's one question worth monitoring, it's one of alignment. This roster was designed essentially to force Udoka to play Sheppard even before Fred VanVleet's injury. Sheppard is far from a perfect player, but his shooting and playmaking is badly needed especially now, with Steven Adams hurt and their offensive rebounding advantage lessened, to keep the offense afloat. Udoka doesn't seem to fully trust him yet, and while injuries may have doomed this season's title hopes, figuring out what they have in Sheppard is important moving forward. That means letting him play through some mistakes. If the front office wasn't comfortable letting him do that, it likely would have added a guard to replace VanVleet. It didn't, but Udoka is still a bit unsteady with his playing time. That situation will play out over time, but the Rockets have earned the benefit of the doubt here.
I wonder how Detroit fans feel about this. 16th best as a #1 seed is kind of wild. Lakers getting Luka for scraps just happened last season, they are 25th? I was wrong about Nuggets because without Jokic they survived and they have had a ton of injuries this year, so they have true depth that was added with significant moves, yet 20th on this list. This is a ridiculous list with no credibility. The Knicks have done nothing but take on tons of salary and throw their future away for Bridges (5 picks an a swap) absolute overpay to set them back a decade, yet they are #7.
The Pistons are a #1 seed because they won the lottery to get Cade and he hard carries them. That has nothing to do with the quality of their FO. You’re right about the Knicks though.
