CASE CLOSED!
Here's the definitive case for which player Houston fans should boo the loudest
Mar 22, 2022, 12:51 pm
Who deserves the most heat? Composite image by Brandon Strange.
Which now-former Houston superstar athlete will hear the loudest boos the next time he comes to town with his new team?
Carlos Correa? James Harden? Deshaun Watson?
I’m thinking it will be James Harden. It should be Carlos Correa. Here’s why.
Harden demanded a trade from the Rockets because the team was in rebuild mode and that’s no place for one of the all-time great scorers in the second half of his career. Even though the Rockets made him one of the highest-paid players of all time, granted his every whim and pampered him like a teacher’s pet for eight seasons, Harden had good reason for wanting out. Great players want to play for contenders and the only thing missing from Harden’s resume was an NBA championship – which wasn’t going to happen in a Rockets uniform.
While Harden handled his final days in Houston poorly, pouting and causing a distraction, he forced what needed to be done. Harden is a strange cat and doesn’t possess the warmest personality. He was never embraced by fans like former Rockets Hakeem Olajuwon, Clyde Drexler, and Rudy Tomjanovich were.
Harden will be in the visiting team’s locker room when the 76ers play next season at Toyota Center. I expect a thunderous chorus of jeers when Harden is announced in the starting lineup, whenever he touches the ball and shoots his step-back 3. Rockets fans will scream “traveling!” Yeah, now it’s traveling.
Despite the Texans making Deshaun Watson one of the NFL’s highest-paid quarterbacks (at the time), it is understandable why he wanted to leave Houston. It’s important to note that Watson demanded a trade before he was accused of sexual misconduct by 22 masseuses and was put in timeout for the entire 2021 season. He was paid $10 million but had to be humiliated by the Texans’ decision not to play him. Please, somebody humiliate me like that.
Watson believes that the Texans promised to consult him on future front office and coaching hires – and then didn’t. We don’t know if that actually was the case, but Watson thinks the Texans lied to him. Reportedly he didn’t think the Texans did do enough to support cultural causes that Watson promoted. It was a bad employer-employee situation and sometimes it’s best for the employee to seek a new opportunity. Which Watson did. A better roster for more money in Cleveland.
It will be a scene when Watson and the Browns visit NRG Stadium next season. I expect Watson will hear a mix of cheers and boos. Football is different from baseball and basketball because football players don’t get singled out very much by the public address announcer. An All-Pro offensive lineman can play the best game of his career and never get mentioned once to the crowd. Watson won’t be introduced each time he takes the field.
Plus, if the Texans put up another stinker season, there won’t be that many fans in the stadium who care enough to boo Watson.
Now we come to Carlos Correa. I predict that the Astros will play a tribute video for him and the packed stadium will give him a standing ovation.
But why? Of the three departing stars, Correa was the most beloved and treasured. While Harden (wanted to play for a contender) and Watson (felt deceived by the owner) had understandable reasons for wanting to leave Houston, what was Correa’s reason? It would seem only one thing – money.
Correa was playing for a winner, the most dominant team in baseball over the last five years. Fans showered him with affection. His teammates loved him. He seemingly had a good relationship with ownership. He was on the road to being a Houston icon. A legend in the making.
And the moment he had a chance to leave Houston he was a goner.
It wasn’t like ownership told him to take a hike, the Astros offered him $160 million over five years, a respectable (I’d say) and prudent contract. Instead Correa took a 3-year deal with the Minnesota Twins for $105 million with opt-outs after the first and second year. I get it, he’s banking on having a sensational 2022 season, opting out and looking again for a long-term deal for more and more money. Betting on yourself is a wise strategy, especially with Correa’s talent, but please don’t write that open letter to Houston fans saying how much he loves them and the city. It’s coming.
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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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