The eyes of the sports watching universe are on the Super Bowl on Sunday, but a little later this week, the NBA will get to one of its biggest days on the calendar. The trade deadline is on Thursday afternoon, and even though the biggest football game of the year is ongoing, trade winds are swirling.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the Houston Rockets are having conversations with some Eastern Conference squads about a possible deal involving starting center Clint Capela. According to Wojnarowski, one of the teams talking to Houston is the Atlanta Hawks, and the chatter involves potential multi-team deals for the big man.
As trade deadline looms on Thursday, Houston is engaged with several Eastern Conference teams — including Atlanta — on C Clint Capela, league sources tell ESPN. There are a few multi-team trade scenarios in play.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 3, 2020
This is not the first time that Atlanta has been linked to a big man on the trade market, as the Hawks were rumored to be discussing a potential Andre Drummond deal with the Detroit Pistons. That was a while ago, though, and subsequent reporting has indicated that their interest may lie elsewhere. And for a team like the Hawks, which have a hole at center and an outstanding young point guard in Trae Young, being interested in him makes a ton of sense, depending on the price.
As for why Capela would be on the market, he is Houston’s most enticing trade chip. The 25-year-old center is signed through the 2022-23 campaign and is owed around $51 million over the next three years. Houston has championship aspirations, and no general manager is more willing to tinker with the hopes of getting a little closer to a ring than Daryl Morey. If they determine there’s a goal that helps them win a ring, even if it involves parting ways with Capela, it wouldn’t be stunning to see the Rockets be active ahead of Thursday afternoon.
