Rockets are finally realizing why the Hawks felt fine letting Clint Capela go

The signing of Clint Capela to a multi-year deal always felt a bit off to Rockets' fans and we are beginning to see why not only is that the case but also why the Atlanta Hawks were not making a big deal about his exit.

After a lackluster start to the season, the 31-year-old center is proving to be a vital rebounder off the bench but beyond that holds little value and is quickly on the decline.

Hawks were a-okay with letting Rockets sign Clint Capela

The 25th overall pick by the Rockets in 2014, the Swiss native took a few seasons to get his feet from under him after just breaking into the league at the age 20.

He saw steady improvement over the first three years of his career, and, at 23 years old, he started to take off, largely in part due to being young and athletic with the positive situation in Houston and being led by veterans and future Hall of Famers in James Harden and Chris Paul.

After a few dominant years with Houston, Capela was traded to the Hawks and, in his first season with Atlanta, led the NBA with 14.3 rebounds per game while also averaging 15.2 points and two blocks. However, it was slow decline from there and the breaking point was the 2024-25 season where his rebounding dropped to 8.5 per game and points to 8.9 per game.

While those numbers were solid, the Hawks could see Capela slowly on the decline as he wasn't as athletic and quick as he once was. Atlanta knew they had to find a way to part from him while making their team better.

That led to Capela returning to Houston in July as part of the Kevin Durant seven-team trade. In conjunction with that, the Rockets signed the big man to a three-year, $21.5 million deal to stay in Houston through the 2027-28 season.

Rockets need to find a way to improve at center and let Capela go

It might be hard to outright let Capela go without having to pay a portion or maybe even all of the remaining money that is owed to him. That's why they would likely keep him around and attempt to make do with the rotation they have now.

On paper, it doesn't seem to be that big of a deal. Alperen Sengun and Steven Adams are going to continue to get the majority of reps at the center position this year, but we've also seen a handful of games where Adams hasn't played in order to manage his ankle injury.

There has been speculation that Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo could be on his way out of town, and the Rockets are listed as one of the teams emerging as favorites to land him. That, of course, would require a haul, likely resulting in one of Amen Thompson or Sengun going to Milwaukee.

That trade could fix their center issues, and prime them for a run to a potential championship, but could seriously be a detriment to the future the organization has built over the last few years.

One thing is for sure. Whether it is improvement by getting rid of Capela or just finding a way to manage with him the lineup, the Rockets will need to make some crucial trade decisions by this season's deadline.