As the first day of NBA free agency continues to draw near, it seems more and more likely the Houston Rockets will be without Clint Capela in 2019-20. Despite his consistent play throughout the regular season, he wasn’t able to get the job done against the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals.
With the way general manager Daryl Morey is revamping things, it seems like the new organizational mantra is, “If you can’t help get past the Warriors, get out.” At this stage, it’s a fair line of thinking. (Hey, maybe it should’ve been the Rockets front office’s thought process from the get-go.)
But it appears the Rockets aren’t solely looking to move on from Capela. There had been rumors Chris Paul could be moved, but Morey shut down those talks on social media recently. However, Paul sticking around could be a result of the $125 million he’s owed over the next three years. Not exactly a contract teams want to take on when the player is 34 years old.
As a result, the Rockets are looking to move not just Capela, but P.J. Tucker and Eric Gordon, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times. Stein even went as far to report the team is working under the belief that one of these three players is gone next season.
The Rockets are indeed shopping everyone on the roster not named Harden. The complexities involved in moving Chris Paul, who at age 34 has three years and nearly $125 million left on his contract, have Houston officials actively exploring the trade market for Clint Capela, Eric Gordon and P.J. Tucker.
Stein continues:
As one source with knowledge of the team’s thinking said, they are operating under the belief that at least one of those three mainstays will not be a Rocket next season.
Houston is in for one wild off-season.
