Meet Rafael Stone and Eli Witus, the Rockets’ new top executives

Rafael Stone becomes the 10th current Black executive to hold the GM title in the NBA, while Witus will serve as his top lieutenant.

With the sudden departure of Daryl Morey, the Houston Rockets will have a new general manager for the first time since early 2007.

Houston’s new GM is Rafael Stone, and he becomes just the 10th current Black executive to hold that title in the NBA. Most recently, Stone was executive vice president of basketball operations, effectively making him Morey’s top lieutenant with the Rockets last season.

Eli Witus. who was previously assistant GM, will be promoted into Stone’s prior role as the No. 2 man in basketball operations.

Here’s how longtime Houston Chronicle beat writer Jonathan Feigen describes the recent roles of Stone and Witus in the front office:

Stone, the team’s former general counsel, has become increasingly involved in the Rockets’ front office decision making for several years along with Witus and Monte McNair, who became general manager with the Sacramento Kings.

McNair served more as a liaison with the coaching staff, typically traveling with the team, with Stone and Witus working more closely with Morey and former Rockets executive Gersson Rosas, the president of basketball operations with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Stone joined the Rockets in 2005 as general counsel (which actually predates the hiring of Morey), and he increasingly took on larger roles within basketball operations over the years. Meanwhile, Witus joined the team three years later. He started as a statistical analyst in 2008, and has since led the Rockets’ analytics department and cap management since his promotion to vice president of basketball operations in 2013.

When Stone and Witus were promoted to their most recent positions in April 2019 (to help compensate for the loss of Gersson Rosas, who took the top basketball operations job in Minnesota), here’s what Morey said:

We are very fortunate to have Rafael and Eli. They work wonderfully together providing strategic insight and analysis. Collectively, they are on the cutting edge of basketball decision making and have been key to our ability to put the team in the place we are today. It is important to us organizationally to be flexible and creative as we find ways to add to our roster, and these two are at the forefront of that effort.

Whether it be acquiring Chris Paul two years ago or signing Clint Capela this summer, we are leaning on them to identify winning players and figure out the best method of fitting them into our team.

Prior to joining the Rockets and Toyota Center, Stone practiced in Dewey Ballantine LLP’s mergers and acquisitions and capital markets group. While working in that capacity with Dewey Ballantine, Stone represented acquirers, targets, investment banks, investors, and issuers in numerous acquisitions and financings.

A native of Seattle, Washington, Stone received a bachelor’s degree in history and political science from Williams College in 1994 and graduated from Stanford Law School in 1997. He also played varsity basketball at Williams College for four years. Stone currently resides in Houston with his wife, Felicia, and their three children.

Considering the experience that Stone and Witus have with Morey over the years, the Rockets are not expected to see a major transition in their innovative, analytics-driven approach. Under Morey’s watch, the Rockets have the NBA’s longest streak of consecutive playoff berths.

Morey is staying on with the Rockets in a short-term advisory role as the front office completes its search for a new head coach. The decision to leave was entirely Morey’s call, as confirmed to Rockets Wire by a team source who was not authorized to speak publicly on the situation.

As expected, Houston owner Tilman Fertitta and CEO Tad Brown will remain in their usual places at the top of the organizational hierarchy.

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