In the end, the recent trade of second-round draft assets to Memphis for veteran center Steven Adams was the only February 2024 move for the Houston Rockets. While Adams is a reliable big man who has started for playoff teams throughout a strong career, the 30-year-old will not be available until next season due to a knee injury.
Despite several rumors going into Thursday’s in-season deadline day for 2023-24 NBA trades, none came to fruition in Houston.
With the deadline transaction window complete, general manager Rafael Stone took questions from reporters prior to Monday’s matchup versus New York (Houston’s first post-deadline home game). First and foremost on the agenda was addressing the completed deal.
“I think we got a really high-level basketball player, a guy who’s been a dominant rebounding force in the NBA for the last five, six years, one of the best defenders in the NBA,” Stone said. “We obviously feel great with Alperen [Sengun], but I just think now we have truly two starter-level centers next year. Depth is just extraordinarily important. But on top of that, he’s just a very different player, and I think will be a good complement on and off the court for our group.”
Topics in the extended Q&A session included motivations for the Adams deal and his health outlook for the 2024-25 campaign; why no other trades got to the finish line this month; and how Stone views the path forward as the team moves through its rebuilding phases.
Here’s our roundup of what Stone told media members on Monday.