TRADING PLACES?
For all the fans ready to trade away J.J. Watt, you might be missing something
Oct 27, 2020, 1:39 pm
Trade JJ? Not so fast. Photo by Peter Aiken/Getty Images
Here's what the trade market could look like for the Texans
J.J. Watt is the greatest and most popular, most giving and caring, athlete in Houston history.
So why is everybody pushing the Houston Texans to trade Watt for a couple of draft picks or another butterfingers running back before the NFL trade deadline next Tuesday? If that happens, and with the Texans approaching the bye-week, it would mean that J.J. Watt has already played his last game for the Texans.
It would be a grave mistake to trade Watt, even for the Texans who already have one foot in the grave this season.
I get it, great players crave championships. Watt may be the exception. He doesn't need a title to be a champion. He's already much more. He is a legend in Houston.
A few years ago, Hurricane Harvey dropped a record amount of rainfall on our city. Watt asked fans to help him raise $200,000 for flood victims. Watt raised a little more than that - $37 million. And he made sure the money was spent wisely. When skies cleared and the dust settled, Watt's fundraising rebuilt 1,183 homes and 971 children's centers, and provided 249 million meals for people in need. That's how you measure a champion.
Watt was blown away by the charity of Houstonians: "Thank you for continuing to shine a light on the beauty of the human spirit."
That's more meaningful than holding a trophy.
There's an old and incorrect belief that great players yearn to play in New York or Los Angeles so they can grab endorsement money and opportunities outside of sports.
Watt plays in Houston. He is the star of stage, screen and H-E-B commercials. He's hosted Saturday Night Live on NBC and Ultimate Tag on Fox. He stole the show in the movie Bad Moms. Jimmy Buffett called him onstage to play conga drums for Margaritaville at the Woodlands Pavilion. He's got his own ice cream flavor. Watt makes quarterback money endorsing American Family Insurance, NRG, Reebok, Gatorade, Subway, Ford and Verizon.
He doesn't need New York or Los Angeles. He has Houston. By the way, can you even name a New York Knick?
He is the 3-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, five times first-team All Pro, five Pro Bowl selections, two times sack leader and Walter Peyton NFL Man of the Year. He met his wife Kealia in Houston.
Sports writers and some fans think Watt is overpaid for what he delivers now. That may be the case. But money paid to J.J. Watt is money well spent. Do you really want to see him wearing another team's uniform? Remember how we scrunched our faces watching Hakeem Olajuwon, his skills clearly diminished, averaging 7 points and 6 rebounds his final season for the Toronto Raptors?
Weren't you proud to watch Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell enter baseball's Hall of Fame after playing their entire careers in Houston?
J.J. Watt is only 31 years old. He is still the Texans' best player on defense. While the Texans are a hot mess this year, they have a generational quarterback and quality receivers, even after dummy traded away our best pass catcher for a bag of magic beans. The NFL is a fluid league. The Texans could find their way back to competitiveness in a few years. Watt will be age appropriate for a winning team. Whatever you get in exchange won't match Watt's skill set and leadership. So why say goodbye to him now?
Yes, the desire to win a championship rages in J.J. Watt. His post-game, post-loss media opportunities have become painful to watch - "I'm angry" and "it sucks."
Absolutely losing sucks for players. But the adoration and respect that Watt carries in Houston is more valuable and enduring than a photo op holding a Super Bowl trophy in a city that isn't your home.
However, if J.J. Watt marches into Texans owner Cal McNair's office and demands a trade, then that's different. Watt has earned the right to control his destiny.
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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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