Clint Capela Trade Rumors: Rockets Have Partner for Deal If Jimmy Butler Joins
The Houston Rockets believe they have a trade partner in place for center Clint Capela should they acquire Jimmy Butler, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times.
Stein added that the Rockets do not plan to trade Capela unless they are able to land Butler.
ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported this week that the Rockets are targeting Butler in a potential sign-and-trade deal with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe reported that Houston has been shopping Capela, guard Eric Gordon and forward PJ Tucker in separate deals. The Rockets are reportedly hoping to open cap space and acquire first-round picks for use in a sign-and-trade with Philadelphia.
If Butler does not want to re-sign with the Sixers, a sign-and-trade could be an ideal resolution since it would allow Philadelphia to acquire a trade exception that can be used to add other players.
The 25-year-old Capela is among the NBA's best all-around centers, and he has improved significantly in each of his five NBA seasons.
While injuries limited Capela to 67 games last season, he set career highs with 16.6 points, 12.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per contest. The Switzerland native also shot 64.8 percent from the field and averaged 1.5 blocks per game.
The 6'10" big man signed a five-year, $90 million extension with the Rockets last year. He will make just under $14.9 million next season and is signed through the 2022-23 campaign.
Although Capela is a rising star, he could be a casualty of the Rockets' efforts to shake up their lineup. After posting the NBA's best record in 2017-18 and reaching Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the Rockets were eliminated in the second round of the playoffs by the Golden State Warriors last season.
The Warriors could lose both Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in free agency, but even if they don't leave, they may miss all of 2019-20 because of injury. The top spot in the West is there for the taking.
Although the Los Angeles Lakers are making a hard charge with a core of LeBron James, Anthony Davis and Kyle Kuzma plus enough cap space to sign another max player, the trio of James Harden, Chris Paul and Butler would arguably be equally dangerous.
