The Boston Celtics are engaged with the Houston Rockets regarding a potential deal for Rockets center Clint Capela, according to ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski.
Woj’s report contains little in the way of detail, so the level Boston is “engaged” could vary widely, from casual interest in being a facilitating party to the team actually trading for Capela to a direct participant with interest in the 25-year-old.
ESPN cap guru Bobby Marks notes the Celtics would need to send out $10 million in salary to make the deal work per CBA guidelines, meaning a trade featuring something like reserve center Enes Kanter, rookie wing Romeo Langford and big man Vincent Poirier could work, if the Rockets were interested in such a combination.
They also have three first-round picks in the 2020 NBA Draft, so it’s not out of the question the team could be serious about making a deal for the Swiss center.
Otherwise, a trade would have to use one of the two other big salaries able to be moved, namely guard Marcus Smart or forward Gordon Hayward — and would require taking back additional players as salary ballast, or sending to a third team with cap space or an exception.
While the bones for a deal do exist, it would take some finesse on Boston’s side to make a deal happen which makes sense for all involved — Celtics Wire will be monitoring these rumbles closely as we get closer to the February 8 trade deadline.
