If the Rockets win the championship next season, Stone s four things will be invincible, and 5-year contract renewal will become the key

Rockets general manager Stone has done quite well since taking office. Especially this offseason, the deal comes to Durant, making the Rockets a strong contender for the championship next season. If the Rockets can win the championship next season, then the four things Stone did during his tenure can be said to be of great contribution.

First, the 5-year contract renewal of Shen Jing, locking in the cornerstone of the inside, became the key to the Rockets' championship. In 2024, Stone GM renewed its contract with Shen Jing for US$185 million in five years, which is undoubtedly a great move, and the last year of the contract is the player option. The contract details disclosed by the salary website Spotrac show that the starting salary of the new contract, i.e., the 2025-26 season, will be about $31.9 million, $34.45 million, $37 million, $39.55 million and $42.1 million in the next four seasons. In the 2024-2025 season, Shin Kyung averaged 19.1 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game in the regular season. With such performance, he was successfully selected as the All-Star and has become the team's inside pillar. In the playoffs, his data increased to 20.9 points, 11.9 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game, showing strong adaptability and psychological qualities.

Entering the 2025 European Championships, Shen Jing shines even more. During his 30.2 minutes of playing time, he scored 21.6 points, 10.9 rebounds and 7.1 assists, with a shooting percentage of up to 59.6%. In the game against Serbia, facing NBA superstar Jokic, Shin Kyung was not afraid, scoring 28 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists, leading the Turkish team to defeat his opponent. Based on his performance, many media have upgraded his NBA center ranking to third, second only to Jokic and Vinban Yama. Shen Jing's outstanding performance made this contract renewal look extremely cost-effective and provided long-term guarantee for the Rockets' inside.

The second is to choose Amen Thompson to completely rise this potential star. In 2023, Stone GM took away Amen Thompson's first-round No. 4 draft pick, and this choice is gradually showing its value. Amen's physical fitness is perverted. P3 laboratory tests show that he and his twin brother Osal are "outliers" with top athletic talent. They have reached the level of active NBA elite athletes in many data, and are at a historical level in terms of lateral movement and explosive power.

Rookie season, Amen showed his strength. In the 2024-2025 season, Amen made more significant progress. He averaged 14.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.3 blocks per game, with a shooting percentage of up to 55.7%, and his three-point shooting percentage increased to 27.5%. His influence on the defensive end is increasing day by day, and he can defend from No. 1 to No. 4, and even occasionally switch to No. 5. Under his defense, the opponent's shooting percentage will drop by 5.5%. When the defender faces him, the two-point shooting percentage is limited to only 38.2%, 29.2% of three-pointers, and the defensive efficiency is 105.3. It ranks first in the team and is the Rockets' absolute defensive core. In the DPOY selection, he won 9 first votes and finally ranked 5th. In time, Amen is expected to become a superstar in the league and bring more victory to the Rockets.

The third is to trade Durant, and Stone trades to Durant with Jaylen Green as the main body, which is undoubtedly the most ambitious step. After a successful transaction, the Rockets' strength will be greatly improved next season. In the 2024-2025 season, Durant played 62 regular season games for the Suns, averaging 36.5 minutes per game, he can score 26.6 points, 6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 1.2 blocks, with a shooting percentage of 52.7%, a three-point shooting percentage of 43.0%, and a free throw shooting percentage of 83.9%. As the top small forward in the league, his scoring ability is unsolvable. His arrival will greatly improve the Rockets' offensive firepower and give the team more choices on the offensive end. At that time, the Rockets will have the core lineup of Shin Kyung, Amen and Durant, and cooperate with other players, they will have the ability to compete for the championship and are expected to cause trouble in the Western Conference and even the entire league.

The fourth is that Stone signed Uduka, which is a key step in the Rockets' reconstruction. In the past two seasons, Uduka has brought qualitative changes visible to the Rockets in terms of record, defense, and player growth, and various data have intuitively reflected this progress.

First of all, it is a leapfrog improvement in the performance. In the 2022-23 season before Uduka arrived, the Rockets had only 22 wins and 60 losses, with a winning rate of less than 30%; in the first year of coaching in 2023-24, he led the team to 41 wins and 41 losses, with a winning rate of 50%; in the 2024-25 season, he took a step further, ranking second in the Western Conference with 52 wins and 30 losses, with a winning rate of 63.4%, and made a strong move to the playoffs, completely bidding farewell to the label of "bottom". The

's defensive changes are equally amazing. Previously, the Rockets' defensive efficiency was at the bottom of the league for many years, and ranked 29th in the 2022-23 season. After Uduka took office, he increased his defensive efficiency to the 12th in the league in the 2023-24 season and directly rushed to the 4th in the 2024-25 season; his opponent's shooting percentage was restricted from 48.2% (21st in the league) to 44.4% (2nd in the league), and his opponent's score was restricted from 1.20 points (29th in the league) to 1.05 points (2nd in the league), and he relied on his iron-blooded defense to secure the victory many times.

Young players have also achieved breakthroughs in data. Shin Jing averaged 14.8 points, 9.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists in the 2022-23 season to 19.4 points, 10.5 rebounds and 5.1 assists in the 2024-25 season, and was also selected as the All-Star. Amen Thompson averaged 2.4 steals per game in the rookie season, and added another 1.3 blocks per game in the 2024-25 season. His defensive efficiency was 105.3 and ranked first in the team. He also won 9 first votes in the DPOY selection and ranked fifth in the league.. In addition, Uduka has also reshaped the team atmosphere, reasonably matched veterans and young players such as Van Fleet to create a "leading top substitute group", which greatly improved the team's cohesion and laid the foundation for hitting higher goals.

General Manager Stone's series of operations give the Rockets a chance to compete with the Thunder next season and compete for the championship. Once the Rockets can defeat the powerful and win the championship, these four things by Stone General Manager will definitely become classic operations in the history of the Rockets' championship.