In the aftermath of rumors suggesting that the Houston Rockets are willing to trade starting center Clint Capela ahead of Thursday’s deadline, a new report has recommended a three-way deal that would allow one of his rumored suitors, the Atlanta Hawks, to acquire him. In that suggested deal, the Memphis Grizzlies would also be participating and sending Andre Iguodala to Houston.
On Tuesday morning, SB Nation blog The Dream Shake suggested a number of hypothetical trade situations that would allow Capela to find a new home before Thursday, starting with the aforementioned deal — a “simple” transaction involving three teams and three players, as well as a future draft pick. Aside from moving Capela to the Hawks and Iguodala to the Rockets — with the latter move widely rumored for the past few months — the transaction would allow the Grizzlies to acquire Hawks wingman Evan Turner for salary-matching purposes, plus the team’s protected 2021 first-round draft selection.
“I’m not sure it’s worth trading Capela for just 30+ games of Iguodala, but if Capela goes to Atlanta, one of the most interested suitors, this is a very simple and easy deal that could get the Rockets an important wing defender,” opined The Dream Shake ‘s Jeremy Brener.
As shown on his Basketball-Reference player page, Capela is averaging 13.9 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks for Houston, while shooting the ball at a 62.9 percent clip from the field. Although the Swiss center’s stats are mostly down from his 2018-19 performance, he has been one of the Rockets’ top supporting players behind superstar guards James Harden and Russell Westbrook.
When @WojESPN reporting that the Celtics are in the mix for Clint Capela, we asked Jackie MacMullen to chime in with her thoughts: pic.twitter.com/D587B8l7K7
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) February 4, 2020
Aside from the Hawks, the Boston Celtics are also said to be among Capela’s most likely landing spots. As previously reported by The Inquisitr , it was recently suggested that the Celtics could land the 25-year-old by trading big men Daniel Theis and Robert Williams, rookie shooting guard Romeo Langford, and a 2020 first-round pick to the Rockets.
Meanwhile, Turner has played sparingly this season for the Hawks, whose 13-38 record ties them with the Cleveland Cavaliers for last place in the Eastern Conference. The 10-year veteran has averaged just 3.3 points, two rebounds, and two assists in 19 games for Atlanta, according to Basketball-Reference .
Lastly, Iguodala has yet to play a game for the Grizzlies since they acquired him last summer from the Golden State Warriors, and has also been linked to a number of other Western Conference contenders aside from the 31-19 Rockets. Notably, the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers have long been rumored to be interested in the 36-year-old guard/forward, who won the 2015 NBA Finals MVP award while serving as the Warriors’ sixth man.