TEXANS NEWS
Houston Texans rumored to have interest in trading for 49ers star receiver
Apr 20, 2022, 1:25 pm
Deebo Samuel would be a great addition for Houston. Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images.
The Athletic's Tim Kawakami is reporting that the Houston Texans have interest in trading for 49ers WR Deebo Samuel.
Guess a lot of people are just seeing this now. The reason I sent it last night is because I had a feeling something might break soon.
— Tim Kawakami (@timkawakami) April 20, 2022
-Major point: I don't know if 49ers and HOU have had talks or if that would be Deebo's 1st choice. But there's chatter that HOU is interested. https://t.co/PLgWTshzRG
This tweet on its own would be one thing, but according to multiple reports on Wednesday, Samuel has officially requested a trade from the 49ers.
Breaking News: I just spoke to wide receiver Deebo Samuel — and he told me that he has asked the 49ers to trade him.
He did not want to discuss specific reasons behind his request, but he has indeed let the 49ers know his desire to leave the organization. More to come.
— Jeff Darlington (@JeffDarlington) April 20, 2022
There's a lot to unpack here. The Texans recently signed Brandin Cooks to a contract extension, so they have at least one legit receiver, and we'll see how former 3rd round pick Nico Collins develops in his second year. Meaning, the Texans could certainly use a game-changing receiver like Samuel, and having the option to use him at running back from time to time would add a wrinkle to the Houston offense that it desperately needs. Of course, he would have to be willing to take some snaps at running back, which he doesn't seem interested in doing anymore.
What would the Texans have to give up? Well, the No.13 overall pick seems to be a starting place for compensation according to Tim Kawakami's tweet, but the other factors to consider are Samuel's main reasons for wanting to leave San Francisco, usage and money. Samuel wants a new contract, and we've seen the crazy money receivers like Tyreek Hill and Davante Adams have received this offseason. And Samuel is going to get a top of the market deal from someone, so why not the Texans?
Don't buy the BS that Bill O'Brien was selling when he traded DeAndre Hopkins for pennies on the dollar. He claimed getting a first rounder for Hopkins was impossible because the team acquiring him would have to give him a new contract. I know this is going to surprise you, but Bill O'Brien was wrong. And speaking of the Hill and Adams contracts, they both got paid and the teams that traded them received first round picks, plus more draft compensation.
The only way Samuel lands with Houston, is if the Texans trade a first round pick and give him a new top of the market contract. Let's say they do that. Is Samuel going to be happy playing with a rebuilding Texans team? Maybe, especially if getting paid is at the top of his priority list. But if winning is important to him, you have to wonder if he'll be asking for another trade sooner rather than later. Houston doesn't want another holdout situation like they had with Deshaun Watson.
One last factor to consider. The Texans could draft a talented receiver at No.13 overall, and have them on an affordable rookie contract for the next five years, and the player would be younger than Samuel. So this has to be something the Texans must consider before making the deal. Either way, as a Texans fan, I would welcome the Deebo Samuel trade. How many players on the Texans have a popular jersey in the team store? They have no star power on the roster, so there aren't any players fans are excited to root for on Sundays. A trade like this would give the fan base a shot of "juice" that is absolutely necessary right now. Plus, Samuel along with Cooks would give Davis Mills a great receiving corps, and help with his development. And if the Texans find out this year that Mills isn't the guy, well the next QB will need weapons to throw too also.
So do we think this will happen? My guess would be no, but Nick Caserio wants to add talent at receiver. The Texans were reportedly interested in trading for former Dolphins WR DeVante Parker, but he ultimately landed with the Patriots.
At the end of the day, it will all be about how much they have to give up to trade for Samuel, and if Caserio thinks he's worth it.
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It was midway through the third quarter of the Oklahoma City-Houston NBA Cup semifinal matchup on Saturday night. Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had just made a short jumper in the lane and, to his delight, a time-out was immediately called.
He needed it.
He retreated to midcourt, crouched down, propped himself up by his fingertips and took deep breath after deep breath. It was that sort of night. And given the way the Rockets and Thunder have defended all season long, such a game was predictable.
In the end, it was Oklahoma City 111, Houston 96 in a game where the teams combined to shoot 41%. The immediate reward for the Thunder: two days off to recover. The bigger reward: a matchup with Milwaukee on Tuesday night for the NBA Cup, with more than $300,000 per player the difference between winning and losing.
“That's what defense does for you,” said Thunder coach Mark Daigneault, whose team has held opponents to 41% shooting or worse a league-best 11 times this season — and is 11-0 in those games. “It keeps you in games.”
The Rockets-Thunder semifinal was basketball, with elements of football, rugby, hockey and probably even some wrestling thrown in. It wasn't unusual. It's how they play: defense-first, tough, gritty, physical.
They are the two top teams in the NBA in terms of field-goal percentage defense — Oklahoma City came in at 42.7%, Houston at 43.4% — and entered the night as two of the top three in scoring defense. Orlando led entering Saturday at 103.7 per game, Oklahoma City was No. 2 at 103.8, Houston No. 3 at 105.9. (The Thunder, by holding Houston to 96, passed the Magic for the top spot on Saturday.)
Houston finished 36.5% from the field, its second-worst showing of the season. When the Rockets shoot 41% or better, they're 17-4. When they don't, they're 0-5.
“Sometimes it comes down to making shots,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “Especially in the first half, we guarded well enough. ... But you put a lot of pressure on your defense when you're not making shots.”
Even though scoring across the NBA is down slightly so far this season, about a point per game behind last season's pace and two points from the pace of the 2022-23 season, it's still a golden age for offense in the league. Consider: Boston scored 51 points in a quarter earlier this season.
Saturday was not like most games. The halftime score: Rockets 42, Thunder 41. Neither team crossed the 50-point mark until Dillon Brooks' 3-pointer for Houston gave the Rockets a 51-45 lead with 8:46 left in the third quarter.
Brooks is generally considered one of the game's tougher defenders. Gilgeous-Alexander is one of the game's best scorers. They're teammates on Canada's national team, and they had some 1-on-1 moments on Saturday.
“It's fun. It makes you better,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “That's what this league is about, competing against the best in the world and defensively, he is that for sure. And I like to think that of myself offensively. He gives me a chance to really see where I'm at, a good test. I'd say I handled it pretty well.”
Indeed he did. Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 32 points, the fifth instance this season of someone scoring that many against the Rockets. He's done it twice, and the Thunder scored 70 points in the second half to pull away.
“We knew that if we kept getting stops we would give ourselves a chance,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “And we did so.”