Photo via Houston Cougar Football/Facebook
*Editor's note: King now plans to redshirt this season and return to UH in 2020, per Joseph Duarte.
In a complete shocker, University of Houston record-breaking quarterback D'Eriq King is set to redshirt the remainder of the year and transfer from the program. Houston Chronicle's Joseph Duarte first broke the news of King sitting out the remainder of the year via redshirt. Then Fox 26's Mark Berman confirmed with King's father that his son would indeed be transferring to another school in order to play his redshirt senior season. However, his father said his decision won't be final until this evening, possibly after 5pm because he hasn't talked to Coach Dana Holgorsen. With the Cougars starting the season 1-3, it's totally understandable why King is not wanting to waste his last year of eligibility. What are some other factors we should consider surrounding King's decision?
Wasted season
A 1-3 start isn't ideal. The prospects of King being able to salvage anything from this season in order to show enough good tape to get drafted are very low. The team is still getting acclimated to Holgorsen's system. Even though it has spread looks, it's more run-based at a slower tempo than what the Coogs have been used to over the last 10 plus years or so.
Draft prospects
With Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray going back to back in winning the Heisman and getting drafted number one overall, King has an outside shot to get drafted pretty high if he shows the same sort of skill. Smaller and/or more athletic quarterbacks have slowly but surely shot down the stigma that they can't play at the next level. The NFL is a copycat league. Everyone will be looking for the next Mayfield, Murray, or Lamar Jackson and King could be it.
Time and opportunity
With the NCAA Transfer Portal giving guys the chance to seek playing time and opportunities in a situation more favorable to them, King is simply taking advantage of the system. It's about damn time the "student-athletes" have a way to take advantage of a system that has long taken advantage of them. What if Jalen Hurts does what his OU predecessors did by winning a Heisman and getting drafted number one overall? Would King want to follow in their footsteps? He'd be a fool not to. Lincoln Riley has already been dubbed the QB whisperer with how he helped Mayfield and Murray. He's on pace to do the same, or similar, with Hurts. King could be the next man up in Riley's QB transfer to NFL pipeline.
All things considered, this is what's best for all parties involved. The Coogs are in for a tough season, and King wants to take full advantage of his last year to maximize his NFL potential. Holgorsen gets to recruit other transfers and true freshmen at the position that'll be given the chance to come in and compete with guys currently on the roster. What if the next man up on the roster now that King is out proves to be a revelation? Chances are pretty slim of that happening, but you never know. Now Holgorsen gets to look at his team and see what all the needs are going into the offseason and recruit to fill them with his type of guys. Let's hope it works out for all those involved.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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