Rockets GM: 'Nobody's untouchable' entering offseason

Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone addressed the media Tuesday after his team's Game 7 elimination to the Golden State Warriors in Round 1 of the playoffs Sunday.

The Rockets finished second in the West at 52-30, but Stone now needs to assess what his team needs to succeed in the postseason.

"The business we're in, nobody's untouchable," Stone said, according to The Athletic's Kelly Iko. "But we deeply value everyone on our roster. We have those picks, we accumulated them so we could draft guys or upgrade our current roster. We'll see what makes the most sense."

Houston owns six first-round draft picks through 2030 and could use those in potential trades.

The Rockets also have a loaded young core. Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Jalen Green had standout years and are 23 or younger.

"Plan A has always been to develop within our group," Stone said, per Fox 26 Houston's Will Kunkel.

Even with Houston's young players having great regular seasons, that didn't fully translate in the postseason.

"We're not a team built around any one player offensively," Stone said, according to KPRC 2's Ari Alexander. "If you want to take out (one player), our goal is to punish it. In some games we punished it, other games we didn't."

Despite potential changes, Stone acknowledged he values roster continuity and "the bar for change is very high," per the Houston Chronicle's Danielle Lerner.

"The goal is to build a championship team, we're all still in it," Stone said.