Boston Celtics Rumors: Should the C’s go all-in on Clint Capela?

Should the Boston Celtics go all-in on acquiring Clint Capela, and is he the missing piece to the puzzle for the team’s championship hopes?

Just past the midway point of the season, the Boston Celtics are defying expectations. Boston is 34-15 and third in the Eastern Conference standings and 1.5 games back of the Toronto Raptors for the second seed.

The Celtics have a top 10 offense and defense in the league, the only other team apart from the Milwaukee Bucks in the East to sport such rankings, and are getting better with every passing day.

Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum appear to be one of the most dynamic young tandems in the league, Kemba Walker is an ideal fit at the point guard position and Brad Stevens is reestablishing himself as one of the best x’s and o’s coaches in the NBA.

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However, as the NBA Trade Deadline quickly approaches, there’s an opportunity for the Celtics to place their chips all on the table and go all-in on potentially coming out of the East this season.

Other than the Bucks, there’s no one team in the East that is head and shoulders above everyone else.

And if the Celtics, who sport the league’s third-best defense in the league, feel good about their chances of slowing down Giannis Antetokounmpo, then they should feel absolutely great about their chances to make a run to the NBA Finals.

One move that the Celtics are reportedly eyeing to make is an addition to their frontcourt, specifically adding a starting center. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Houston Rockets and the Celtics have, at the very least, had initial conversations of a trade centered around Clint Capela.

ESPN Sources: Another team engaged with the Houston Rockets in trade talks for center Clint Capela: The Boston Celtics.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 3, 2020

The question is, should the Celtics be all-in on Capela as their missing piece to make a deep run in the playoffs? On the surface, Capela on the Celtics seems like a great fit. He’s a player that doesn’t need the ball in his hands to be effective and is relatively good on the defensive end. He’s averaging a career-high 1.8 blocks per game this season.

Capela is the type of center that could fit on any offense, with the one glaring omission from his game being his ability to ghit a consistent jump shot. Though, for a team as good as the Celtics are on the offensive end (ranked 5th in the NBA), Capela likely won’t bog down the machine that Boson’s offense has been this season.

Is he the missing piece to the championship puzzle? It’s tough to tell, and there’s no guarantee but the fit seems seamless. And from the look at the current trade market, he’s probably the biggest value addition that the team would be able to make at the deadline (assuming the price isn’t too high).

Which leads us to what the Rockets would be asking in exchange.

Reports suggest that the Rockets are looking for a wing or center rotational piece by dumping Capela.

"[via ESPN]In talks around the league, the Rockets are expressing hope they can find a deal — or a series of deals — that would bring them back a wing and a center for Capela by Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, sources said."

Of course, three-team or multi-team trades would be in play here but since those are nearly impossible to predict, let’s just assume that the Rockets would be getting something they desire from the Celtics in a potential deal.

A few names that could theoretically be in play, based on what the Rockets are in the market for, are Marcus Smart (though, unlikely), Daniel Theis and Enes Kanter. Gordon Hayward likely won’t get moved, even in a multi-team deal, and perhaps the Celtics offer up picks and then try to match salary.

The Rockets would be wise to ask for Smart. However, it would be highly surprising to see Boston part ways with one of their core rotational pieces. Especially a player as valuable as Smart, who has the ability to play almost anywhere on the floor. Daniel Theis would almost have to be part of the deal, though, considering his contract, has been a solid role player for the Celtics this season.

Would the Celtics be willing to part ways for valuable rotation pieces for a legit starting center that may or may not be the key to getting them over the hump in the Eastern Conference?

The Celtics are expected to be one of the most active teams at the NBA Trade Deadline, whether Clint Capela is the top target remains to be seen.