In October 2020, Rafael Stone took over as general manager of the Rockets. His initial years featured an extensive organizational rebuild, and some fans and analysts questioned whether the GM was too involved in Houston’s day-to-day basketball operations.
In the years since, and particularly since hiring Ime Udoka as head coach in the 2023 offseason, Stone has operated more in the background. While Stone remains the chief decision-maker for roster moves and transactions, Udoka is clearly the leading voice during each regular season.
Among consistent rotation players, 2021 first-round draftee Alperen Sengun is the biggest constant between Stone’s early years in Houston (with Stephen Silas as head coach) and the Udoka era.
Today, at least as the
two-time NBA All-Star sees things, there are times in which Stone might need to use his voice more — and perhaps find a balance between his earlier seasons and the latter ones.
At Friday’s Sept. 11 community service event in Houston, Stone said of Sengun (via Chancellor Johnson):
We had some good conversations at the end of last year and part of it was him putting pressure on me that, ‘You have to communicate better.’
He said, ‘You’re always around, but I want to hear from you more: Good, bad or ugly.’ I said, ‘Alright, that’s fair.’ His first couple of years, I was always on him and I’ve tried to back off a little bit. He doesn’t need me yelling at him 24/7, but I took that in, so one of the things that came out of that was, ‘Hey, let me go spend some time with you in Turkey.’
To that end, Stone and other team staffers recently visited Sengun during his offseason training back home.
“He’s having a great summer,” Stone said of the Turkish big man. “He’s been working his butt off.”
Rockets GM Rafael Stone on visiting Alperen Şengün in Türkiye:
— Franchise Şengün (@FranchiseSengun) September 11, 2026
"We had some good conversations at the end of last year. Part of it was Alpi putting pressure on me [to communicate better]."
Stone added that Şengün specifically asked to hear from him more often, whether it was…
Sengun and the rest of the 2026-27 Rockets will report to training camp later this month before beginning preseason play in early October.
Houston is coming off consecutive seasons with 52-30 records before a first-round playoff exit. To get over that hump, another breakthrough from Sengun — particularly on the defensive end — would significantly help the cause.
Sengun is under contract with Houston through the 2029-30 season, though the final year is a player option. He turned 24 years old this offseason.
This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Alperen Sengun wants more communication with Rockets GM Rafael Stone
