Clint Capela Trade Rumors: Rockets GM Daryl Morey Gauging Market for Center

Could Clint Capela be on the move?

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is "showing an aggressive desire to improve roster with all players and picks available in talks," adding that James Harden was unlikely to be traded but "the rest under contract—perhaps even Chris Paul—could be moved in right deal."

Marc Stein of the New York Times then followed that report by tweeting that Capela "is among the players Houston has gauged the market for in recent days."

Outside Harden, Capela is arguably Houston's best trade chip. At 25, he's younger than players like Paul (34) or Eric Gordon (31) and is entering his prime years. He's also a modern NBA center, able to impact the game both defensively (12.7 rpg, 1.5 bpg) and as a rim-runner in the pick-and-roll. 

Clint Capela goes up to get it and finishes the oop

Plus, his contract isn't an albatross, the one factor severely diminishing Paul's trade value. Paul is owed $38.5 million next season, $41.3 million in the 2020-21 campaign and has a player option for $44.2 million in 2021-22, which he assuredly will exercise. 

It's hard to imagine many teams will want to take on that contract for a player on the wrong side of his prime years.

Capela, meanwhile, has four years and $76.3 million remaining on his deal. While he isn't cheap, it's a reasonable deal for a center of his caliber, especially one who has improved his scoring output every season (16.6 ppg this year) and has grown into a true two-way player.

Yes, the Golden State Warriors neutralized him in the Western Conference semifinals, often rendering him ineffective. But the Warriors do that to a lot of centers given their floor-spacing and ability to play small. One series won't affect his trade value on the market, or at least it shouldn't.

And unless a team is willing to absorb Paul's huge cap hit, Capela and Gordon—who is due to make a very reasonable $14 million next year before becoming a free agent—are the team's best trade chips. The question for Houston is whether those two, alongside a number of draft picks, would be enough to pry a star player away from another team. 

Morey is going to have to get creative, in other words. But it's hard to see a scenario in which the Rockets add another star without giving up Capela.