 Stone in 2024 | |
| Houston Rockets | |
|---|---|
| Position | General manager |
| League | NBA |
| Personal information | |
| Born | (1972-06-16)June 16, 1972 (age 52) Seattle, Washington |
| Nationality | American |
| Career information | |
| College | Williams College (BA) Stanford University (JD) |
| Career history | |
| 2020–present | Houston Rockets |
Rafael Stone (born June 16, 1972) is the general manager of theHouston Rockets.
ASeattle native, Stone is the oldest of three children.[1] He earned an undergraduate degree in African American studies and political science fromWilliams College inMassachusetts, where he also playedDivision III basketball for four seasons.[1] After graduating fromStanford Law School, Stone worked as an associate and then as a partner atNew York City-basedDewey Ballantine LLP's mergers and acquisitions and capital markets group.
Stone joined the Rockets in 2005 as general counsel and was later promoted to executive vice president of basketball operations while still serving as general counsel.[1] As general counsel, he was responsible for all legal matters related to the franchise and its arena,Toyota Center, including player contracts, trades, business transactions, and concerts.[2]
He was named general manager of theHouston Rockets by ownerTilman J. Fertitta on Oct. 15, 2020.[1] One of Stone's earliest transactions as Rockets GM was tradingRobert Covington toPortland in exchange forTrevor Ariza, a first-round pick, and the rights toIsaiah Stewart, who was the 16th overall pick in the2020 NBA draft.[3]
Stone then traded Ariza, the rights to Stewart, a second round pick, and cash considerations toDetroit in exchange forChristian Wood, a first-round pick, and a second round pick.[3] Wood went onto finish fourth in voting for theMost Improved Player award in 2020-21 while averaging career-highs of 21.0 points and 9.6 rebounds.
On January 22, 2021, Stone acquiredKevin Porter Jr. fromCleveland in exchange for a second round pick.[3] Porter averaged 16.6 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.8 rebounds over the remainder of the season and joinedMemphis’Ja Morant as the only sophomores in 2020–21 to have averaged at least 16.0 ppg, 6.0 apg, and 3.0 rpg.
During the2021 NBA draft, Houston acquired four players within the first 24 picks, all of whom were 19-years-old heading into the2021-22 season. The Rockets draftedJalen Green with the second overall pick,Usman Garuba 23rd, andJosh Christopher 24th, while obtaining the rights toAlperen Sengun, who was the 16th overall pick byOklahoma City. The pick used to acquire Garuba was obtained from Portland as part of the Covington deal, while the pick used to select Christopher came from a four-team trade Houston made withBrooklyn, Cleveland, andIndiana on Jan. 16, 2021.[3]
His father, Rafael Stone, played point guard at theUniversity of Washington in the late 1960s and was coached by future Hall of FamerTex Winter for his final two seasons.[1] He chose a career in law rather than to pursue playing basketball professionally and became the first black lawyer hired by a major Seattle firm.[1]
Stone and his wife have three children.[4]