J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai Watt along with a few Astros step up in time of need for Houston
Houston's athletes donate to help in time of need
Mar 16, 2020, 4:35 am
J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohai Watt along with a few Astros step up in time of need for Houston
With school and work shutting down for thousands of Houstonians the Houston Food Bank received some financial help from some of Houston's biggest stars. The Food Bank will assist students who depend on free lunches, among others during the COVID-19 pandemic.
#Astros All-Star OF George Springer donating $100K to the employees at Minute Maid Park who are impacted by the cancellation of events: “These are the people that help take care of my family when I go to work. Now I want to help take care of them when they’re in a time of need.”
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) March 14, 2020
An incredible gesture by George Springer in the same vein as Kevin Love of the Cavaliers and Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Bucks in the NBA.
With our help, @HoustonFoodBank is assembling quarantine food kits so our students and their families don’t need to worry about their next 28 meals. Please join me in helping our community, every little bit counts! https://t.co/fr7eCRGvNP https://t.co/XpOxyeu9XU
— Alex Bregman (@ABREG_1) March 14, 2020
Alex Bregman took care of a tremendous amount of meals. As schools close down students who depend on free breakfast and lunches lose the ease of access to their meals.
I will be following @ABREG_1 lead & donating 10 k meals to the @HoustonFoodBank to help these families in need during this time!!! Houston will always come together in times of need. Please join us! @karaleighhh @LMcCullersJrFdn 🤘 https://t.co/19zvT2ObMj https://t.co/AjILtPK1Ea
— Lance McCullers Jr. (@LMcCullers43) March 15, 2020
Following the lead of his teammate Alex Bregman, Astros pitcher Lance McCullers also helped out on the food front.
Sports stars @JJWatt and @KealiaOhai made a generous donation to the Houston Food Bank so we can continue to serve our community during this time of great need. Thank you both for helping us remain a safety net for southeast Texas! https://t.co/bcQO25dVSv
— Houston Food Bank (@HoustonFoodBank) March 15, 2020
J.J. Watt and his family are no stranger to charity. Watt of course raised $37 million for Hurricane Harvey relief. He paid for the funerals of students and teachers who were slain in a school shooting.
Now Watt and his wife Kealia Ohai Watt have stepped up with a very generous donation. The Houston Food Bank explains every one dollar provides three meals. So, in theory, the donation provides over one million meals.
#Rockets CEO @tadbbrown: “We’re putting together a plan to take care of our part-time employees during their time of need.” https://t.co/OsHtlH506R
— Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) March 13, 2020
Many NBA teams, in the midst of their season, have started to do the same.
If you'd like to donate to the Houston Food Bank you can at this link
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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