Rockets GM Rafael Stone explains how young players can be more complementary

Rafael Stone on the fit of Houston’s young core: “The better you become, and the stronger your weaknesses are, the less you need somebody else to compensate.”

Citing their different positions, the Rockets have expressed confidence in the long-term fit of Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. The same goes for other members of Houston’s emerging young core.

Yet, general manager Rafael Stone acknowledges that blending different playing styles together isn’t always easy.

The key, as he sees it, is to minimize weaknesses. In a new interview with Vanessa Richardson of Space City Home Network (SCHN), the team’s regional television broadcast partner, Stone was asked about the his views of the Green-Sengun pairing. Among his comments:

I do think it’s incumbent upon both of them to improve. The better they get individually, the more they’ll be able to help one another out, and make up for the other’s weaknesses.

No player in the NBA is perfect. Nobody has all strengths and no weaknesses. The better you become, and the stronger your weaknesses are, the less you need somebody else to compensate for them… and the more you can compensate for others.

For all our young guys, the better they get, the easier it will be for them to play with each other, and with all their other teammates. That’s how I look at it.

The complete interview can be viewed as part of SCHN’s latest “Rockets All Access” program to wrap up the 2023-24 season. It will air for the first time on Friday night at 7:00 p.m. Central, and it will then be re-broadcast several different times over the coming days.

[lawrence-related id=123402,123316]