BOLD TURN FOR THE TEAM
How this offseason became the most mind-blowing chapter in the Texans' complicated history
Jun 16, 2020, 2:52 pm
Photo by John Grieshop/Getty Images.
No doubt, sometimes it's difficult to figure out what's going on in Houston Texans coach Bill O'Brien's brain – clock management, a profanity-laced confrontation with a fan, giving away superstar receiver DeAndre Hopkins in a trade that could get the Arizona Cardinals arrested for highway (I-10) robbery, it goes on.
But one thing about coach O'Brien, there's no wondering where his heart lies. He is clear about his feelings on race, social injustice and human dignity. This season, O'Brien will lay it on the line. He will take a knee in full view of the public, on the field when the national anthem plays before NFL games. He is the first and only coach among America's four major pro sports to announce his intention. Do not question his courage.
"Yeah, I'll take a knee, I'm all for it," O'Brien said. Just a reminder, the Texans have had four coaches in their history. Only one has a winning record, and he's on the record supporting Black Lives Matter.
Last week, O'Brien, along with Texans owner Cal McNair and star player J.J. Watt, attended the funeral of George Floyd, the Houston native who was killed while handcuffed in police custody in Minneapolis. O'Brien, who grew up in Massachusetts and cut his coaching teeth with the New England Patriots, added, "To see discrimination of any kind against an innocent man who was murdered out of evil and ignorance, it simply breaks my heart and makes me angry. We have to do so much better. It's 400 years of slavery. It's segregation. It's police brutality."
Houston should be proud of Texans leadership. The head coach will take a knee for the national anthem. It's not a sudden awakening for O'Brien. He has supported players taking a knee in the past. Our brilliant quarterback Deshaun Watson pressured his alma mater Clemson to remove the name of a slave owner from campus buildings. And Watt, who has led the Texans onto the field waving an American flag, clapped back against a Twitter follower who said Watt would never disrespect the flag by taking a knee. Watt said, "If you still think it's about disrespecting the flag or our military, you clearly haven't been listening."
This is a bold and positive turn for the team. Only three years ago, Texans owner Bob McNair said the NFL needed to prohibit players from kneeling during the anthem. McNair, who has since passed away, told other owners that the NFL "can't have the inmates running the prison." That is not how the expression goes. His choice of words, referring to players as "inmates" and the league as "the prison," was revealing, however. How far this team has come.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has apologized for his comment, "I will never agree with anybody disrespecting the American flag." As Watt says, Brees has been listening. Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield promises that he "absolutely" will kneel for the anthem this season. He has been listening, too.
With NFL commissioner Roger Goodell now supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, what now for quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who was the first player to kneel for the anthem in 2016, and was out of the league one year later? He risked everything for what he believed, lost his job and many millions of dollars, but has never wavered from protesting police brutality against African-Americans. He will be remembered on the right side of history.
Reportedly at least one team has inquired about Kap's services. Wouldn't it be something if the New England Patriots sign the outspoken quarterback and he leads them to the Super Bowl, where the Pats face the Dallas Cowboys, owned by the suddenly silent Jerry Jones? That wouldn't be a football game, it'd be the cultural event of the century.
Kaepernick faces long odds of taking an NFL field (again), taking a knee (again) and taking his team to the Super Bowl (again). Been there, done all three. But Kaepernick hasn't thrown a pass that counted in four years. Even premiere athletes rarely come back from extended time away and achieve their former success. There have been exceptions, however:
Ted Williams volunteered for military duty during World War II and the Korean conflict and missed five years of his prime with the Red Sox. He returned to baseball and completed his legendary Hall of Fame career.
Muhammad Ali was banned from boxing for 3-1/2 years after he refused induction into the Army, but came back to re-capture the heavyweight title.
Michael Jordan helped the Chicago Bulls win three NBA titles, left to fulfill a dream of playing baseball, and returned for three more basketball championships.
Kaepernick, while banished for years, just might catch lightning in a bottle. He has exquisite skills, is a proven winner, and continued to work out while in exile. If anybody can … here's hoping.
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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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