The Houston Rockets are shopping Clint Capela, and the Boston Celtics are apparently interested.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Celtics are “engaged” in trade talks with the Rockets for the big man, which can obviously mean anything.
It could mean that Danny Ainge simply placed a call to Daryl Morey to do his due diligence and that the two sides briefly talked before hanging up. It could mean that Boston and Houston held serious discussions but that the two sides couldn't come to a match. Or, it could mean that the C's and Rockets are legitimately building the framework of a deal.
Whatever the case may be, a trade doesn't seem all that likely between the two parties. For the Celtics, that's not a bad thing.
Ordinarily, I would be all for Boston acquiring a center as solid as Capela. He is a walking double-double, a great rim protector and can defend in space (at least adequately). He also represents a terrific pick-and-roll partner.
But here is the problem: Capela is making $14.9 million this season and has three more years remaining on his deal at $16 million, $17 million and $18 million, respectively.
For starters, the C's probably don't want to match Capela's salary with a significant piece such as Marcus Smart, as they shouldn't.
Smart is the glue that holds the Celtics together and is one of the best defensive players in basketball, so trading him away shouldn't even be an option.
Ainge could get creative and put together a package that includes something like Daniel Theis (who has been very good as the starting center), Romeo Langford and a few other low-salary players along with a draft pick (the Celtics have several firsts at their disposal), but would that be enough to get the Rockets to bite? It may depend on if Houston could use that first-round pick to swing another deal for a wing upgrade such as Andre Iguodala or Robert Covington.
On top of this, committing that much money to Capela over the next four seasons (including this year) could cripple Boston moving forward. Capela is a good a player, but he is also someone who has had some difficulty staying healthy, and his offensive repertoire is incredibly limited.
For a C's team that needs to open up cap flexibility more than anything else, taking on Capela at that salary for four seasons is probably not the best course of action.
Honestly, these are the issues that the Celtics will find themselves running into between now and the Thursday trade deadline.
Boston doesn't really have any “in between” guys it can move. The top young players (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) are essentially untouchable, and the rest of the young players on the roster either a.) haven't shown enough to command too much attention from trade partners and/or b.) aren't making enough money to match incoming salaries.
And let's not even get started with the “trade Gordon Hayward” ideas, because those were always rooted in ignorance to begin with (I'm not sure people realize that Hayward has arguably been the Celtics' best all-around player this season).
Clint Capela wouldn't be a bad fit on Boston, but the C's can't just add him on to the roster without giving up something in return, which is where the sticking point surfaces.
Follow Us
Subscribe