Trying to make sense of 3 Houston Rockets Capela trade rumors

2. Trade directly with the Atlanta Hawks

Another scenario Shapiro brings up is the possibility of trading directly with the Atlanta Hawks. We’ve previously written about the potential of trading for third-year forward John Collins. It would be tough to pry the 6-9 Utah native from Atlanta considering the 19.3 point, 10.2 rebound season he’s currently having.

Still, Clint Capela is a defensive force inside and would definitely provide sorely needed post defense for the freefalling Hawks. Atlanta is currently 29th in the league in points allowed, with 118.2 per game. They’re also giving up 47.1 rebounds per game, which has them ranked 27th. Clint would be an immediate upgrade in these departments for years to come.

It may be a tough sell, but if there’s a way to get Atlanta to bite and throw in a pick and another filler to match salaries, it would be well worth it for the Rockets. Given that Houston would get a big who could stretch the floor and still hold his own inside, this is a no-brainer.

3. Send Capela to Boston for Theis, Poirier, Langford, first-round pick

On a recent Lowe Post Show hosted by Zach Lowe, Brian Windhorst brought up a potential trade between the Rockets and Celtics with the headliners being Clint Capela and Daniel Theis. At first glance, this looks like the Celtics robbing the Rockets to me. Romeo Langford and Vincent Poirier are certainly fillers, so essentially the deal is Theis and a pick for Capela.

On second glance, yes, this is still robbery for Boston. Theis is a solid role player that plays hard every night and has shown an occasional ability to step out and shoot the three. Still, if the Rockets are in “win-now” mode, as we’ve all been hearing all season long, I don’t see how this deal helps that mission.

If this move is somehow step one of a multi-step plan, then it would be okay. As it is, Houston should absolutely not entertain Windhorst’s idea. With the trade deadline approaching on Thursday, it would be a shock if Daryl Morey and the Rockets didn’t make some kind of move involving Capela this week.