Michael Shapiro

New @chron: "There was plenty of 'man up, motherf---er.' Plenty of 'stop whining.'" Ime Udoka is harsh. He’s also widely respected across the NBA. Why? Jayson Tatum, Grant Williams, Kyle Anderson, Jabari Smith Jr. and more explain ⬇️ chron.com/sports/rockets…

We will go live at 4:00pm CT to discuss the Rafael Stone and Ime Udoka press conference with two reporters that were there -- @BenDuBose and @mshap2. Lots to discuss about the Houston Rockets offseason. youtube.com/watch?v=AocZfM…

@LVann_Sports @chron Great teammate, great reporter. Best of luck moving forward, LV. Only good things ahead 💪

Some news: I am leaving @chron after 2 years & 5 months. Thankful for my time here, not sure what’s next, but excited for the future! My last day will officially be Friday. If you know of any opportunities in sports, feel free to send them my way: vannl95@gmail.com

Rafael Stone offered a lengthy explanation on why the Rockets didn’t aggressively pursue a point guard after Fred VanVleet’s season-ending injury: “What I don't believe in philosophically is just going to get a point guard because they're a point guard.” Full quote ⬇️ “Just because somebody is a good ball-handler and good passer but they can't defend and they can't shoot, I'd rather just cobble it together rather than, ‘hey, we can get into our offense, but no one guards them after they make the initial pass and on the other end they're just a sieve.’” “And those players do exist in the NBA, there's quite a few of them, and they're available. But I didn't think that would make us better on the whole. So I do think there's an opportunity cost. ... Our team this year was very big and we were very physical, and when Fred went down, we made a conscious decision to just lean into that.” Stone notes there were trade-offs to not acquiring a new PG. Added the “timing” of FVV's injury created difficult scenario to make short-term deal.

Here’s Ime Udoka on reports of discord inside Houston’s locker room. “For us, it's almost a little bit laughable when you hear things, because you're like, ‘where the hell did this come from?’ And it's the opposite of what we deal with on a daily basis. I think that would be echoed by the players if you asked them on a day-to-day basis, man-to-man.” “They all make jokes about it, laugh about the vibes about it, all that. I think you saw that throughout the season. ... I've been in some bad situations and we're far from that.” Full answer ⬇️

Ime Udoka says commentary on Rockets’ “vibes,” this season was “laughable.”

Rafael Stone says he expects to make some degree of change to the “back-end” of Houston’s roster. Wants a strong shooter that isn’t “just a shooter.” Echoes Ime Udoka’s comments during his post-Game 6 presser.

Rafael Stone: “Tari, Jabari, Reed and Amen need to become better basketball players next season.” Says he expects they will be.

Now meeting with Ime Udoka and Rafael Stone about Rockets’ present and future. Stone called the season “disappointing”and “frustrating” in his first remarks.

Ime Udoka on Kevin Durant’s significant playing time in his age-37 season. “You definitely want to shave those minutes down.” Adds it wasn’t the plan for Durant to play so many minutes (2nd most in NBA this year).

Ime Udoka says he doesn’t expect any changes to Rockets’ coaching staff.

Rafael Stone says he expects the Rockets to be tax team again next year. Only scenario in which they aren’t would be a “strategic” step back in 2026-27. (Will share full response a bit later)

DeMeco Ryans on Azeez Al-Shaair’s support of newly-launched Ryans Foundation: “You can’t say too many good things about Azeez, man. You ask him to show up and he’s there, and he stays longer than you expect him to stay. He goes above and beyond.” “He doesn’t just care about the community. It’s truly rooted in who he is as a man, as an individual. I feel like everyone around Houston has felt the love he has, the passion Azeez has.”

@ChancellorTV @KeatonW34 @Darryn_P1 @Yaxel_Lendeborg @DariusAcuff @AJ_Dybantsa @K1ngFlemings @Big12Conference @big12studios this is sick, looking forward to all of these (and Darryn, specifically) 💪

Introducing the “Film Don’t Lie” 2026 NBA Draft Series 🏀: -AJ Dybantsa -Darryn Peterson -Kingston Flemings -Yaxel Lendeborg -Keaton Wagler -Darius Acuff Jr. Hear directly from some of basketball’s biggest rising stars as we count down to the 2026 NBA Draft. New episodes drop every week. Men lie. Women lie. Film Don’t. TikTok: @ChancellorTV IG: @FilmDontLieHQ YouTube: @FilmDontLieHQ

@FBugenhagen_ Highly recommend his books of essays (Consider the Lobster + A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again) Nice summer reads, tbh

a writer friend of mine showed me this address via video in 2024, and I revisit it often; happy to have finally sunk my teeth into a published version of it excerpts from “This is Water” by DFW

Should add Şengün is the least guaranteed to return of any of the aforementioned quartet. I’d still predict he remains in Houston, where he’s become both an All-Star and team leader. chron.com/sports/rockets…

📝 Where do the Rockets go from here? Don’t expect Ime Udoka nor Rafael Stone to be dismissed, per sources familiar with franchise ownership. It’s also expected Kevin Durant returns, as well as Alperen Şengün. It may be unsatisfying to fans, but Houston’s changes will largely be on the margins. More ⬇️ chron.com/sports/rockets…

We’re now live @SportsTalk790 You can tap-in online ⬇️ sportstalk790.iheart.com

📻 Live in studio @SportsTalk790 today with @MrColeThompson at 10:30. 𝙋𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 to discuss on Rockets’ disappointing present + complicated future.

@BradeauxNBA Think that’s about right. Gave my (educated) guess before I left Toyota Center last night ⬇️

My predictions for the Rockets offseason: • Udoka/Stone won’t be fired • Young Core of Şengün, Amen, Jabari, Reed return • Eason (depending on price) returns • FVV comes back • Adams (TBD, I’m not sure) • Everyone else is gone So… Not a ton of change 🤷‍♂️

🎥 From last night: Will Ime Udoka and Rafael Stone return to the Houston Rockets next year? Will Kevin Durant and Alperen Şengün? Here’s an educated guess before a long offseason begins in Houston ⬇️