Poll: Do you like the Clint Capela-Robert Covington trade?

First WB, then this Clint trade. Morey has lost his mind. Don't think he will stick around at the end of this season. His last two trades are un-Morey like.

 

Ok?

 

I tried to work out trades for Covington with either Looney or Jordan Bell back in Dec but
I junked them when I found out Eric Gordon would not be traded and I felt Houston would not
part with Capela.

I like the trade. Bell can do what Capela gives you. Probably block more shots in the process.

 

Good chance Capela would have been a shell of himself for the remainder of the season in dealing with a soft tissue injury on the heel. Not to mention the Rockets are increasingly running less PNR, so I feel like this is a good move.

 

Normally I'd just chalk this up to "agree to disagree," but I'm so sick of the amount of hypocritical Rockets fans who have crapped on Clint in the last 24 hours on this site when a month ago they would have been singing his praises after more than five seasons of excellent play for this team. The level of flip-flopping on this site from fans who love a guy one minute and immediately denounce him the second he's off the team is getting out of hand, and it someone needs to call it out. The fact that went the arrogant, insulting and lazy route of "do you even watch basketball?" justifies this response even more.

Reason No. 1 why you're wrong

Both guys are role players. They have a combined 0 All-Star or All-NBA appearances in 13 combined seasons in the league. Covington's career USG% is 19.1, and Capela's is 18.1. Covington's career PPG is 12.8 compared to Capela's 12.2, and neither guy ever topped 17 in a season (Capela's highest was 16.6). And these aren't guys who create for themselves. Covington has been assisted on 68% of his 2-point field goals and almost 94% of his 3-point field goals in his career compared to nearly 80% of all of Clint's field goals.

Mind you, these are really good players, but neither guy is going to confuse anyone for an All-Star anytime soon. And if either guy ever HAD made a case as an All-Star it was probably Clint's 17/13/2 season last year.

Reason No. 2 why you're wrong

You act as if being a pick and roll center is so easy that anyone can do it, but if that's the case, why don't they? How many centers in the NBA are capable for 14/12/2 every season (which is essentially what Clint's averaged the last three years)? How many centers are top 20 in TS%, BLK% and TRB% and play at least 30 minutes a game this year? 3: Capela, Whiteside and Gobert.

The dude has been remarkably productive in his time as the Rockets' starting center and easily a top 10 center in the league. And his skills as a pick and roll man are exceptional. If we're calling both guys role players and Covington's skillset offensively is primarily as a catch and shoot specialist (who's basically just above average), it's unfair to not give Clint credit for his skillset, which was highly sought after on this team for years until they didn't really need it anymore this year.

Reason No. 3 why you're wrong

Clint's numbers are just better, period.

Clint's career averages: 12.2 points, 9.7 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, 1.0 assists and 0.7 steals with a career .629 TS%, 22.0 PER, .202 WS/48, 1.8 BPM and 8.4 VORP
Covington's career averages: 12.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, 0.8 blocks, 1.5 assists and 1.7 steals with a career .555 TS%, 13.5 PER, .087 WS/48, 1.2 BPM and 8.9 VORP

You can account for Clint taking far less shots outside of 3 feet and Covington's range, but across the board Clint has been the more productive, efficient player by pretty much all statistical standards. (Note that VORP is cumulative.)

Reason No. 4 you're wrong

Clint makes more money. The market dictated their value, and Capela makes a pretty good chunk more than Covington does. You could argue that market is determined by the team and maybe the Rockets overpaid, but at the time, I'm pretty sure 90% of Clutchfans thought that deal was a steal (myself included).

Reason No. 5 why you're wrong

Analysts disagree with you:
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/...-zion-williamson-only-rookie-to-make-the-cut/
https://www.si.com/nba/top-100-nba-players-2020#80-61
https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/27640475/ranking-best-players-nba-season-100-51

Go find a top 100 NBA players list before the season. There's a consensus here that, not only are they close, but Clint is rated higher. This is my least favorite barometer, but there's something to be said for public opinion, and there are a ton of fans and analysts across the country who saw that trade get tweeted out last night and went "Huh? Why did the Rockets give up a 1st?"

Bottom line: Can we stop with the ridiculous double standards and just given credit where credit is due? It's not blasphemy to say "maybe Daryl didn't win this trade in terms of value" and to actually praise the guy the Rockets traded. Clint was a hell of a productive player, good teammate and overall solid dude in his time in Houston. We have given him more praise on this site the last five years than anyone not named James Harden, and yet the second he's dealt his value is immediately **** and he was never that good to begin with.

Overall I'm happy with the trade in that I think Covington is a better fit for what this team wants to be and the direction it's going offensively. But just because they no longer value his skillset doesn't make his skillset somehow less impressive or lessen his productivity or contributions to this team.

 

Yes this trade is great. We are in a win now situation and this helps solidify that. Losing Clint is a bit tough to swallow but how many times have we seen him just get wrecked by gs nurkic jokic... and so forth. His skill set can be replaced. In today's NBA you just don't invest in a big man. It is a guard's league now. The lakers have Dwight mcgee who are honestly relatively cheap signings. Was clint capella really going to hold it down against those guys? We do need to get a big man though besides Bell. Good insurance but we need some bulk and anger.

 

I cannot say I like short term moves, this feels like one.

Made my peace with this.

This is a year of tragedy, my focus won't be solely on the NBA and basketball.

 

Clint is a remarkable young man, I wish him nothing but the best going forward.

13-16 and 13 all the way, mang.

 

He will have more open looks here though. I like Cap so im against the trade but if we get a decent big I will be okay with it.

 

I don't think the Rockets had a choice honestly. Capela doesn't work with Westbrook. We went all in on Westbrook when we traded CP3 and our future for him. You don't do this deal and the Rockets are condemned to a 2nd round playoff appearance at best.

They still may not be a contender, but they certainly improved.

 

Co-signed. Any forward from Golden State strengthens the rockets front line.

Bell is closest thing Draymond Greene besides maybe Kevon Looney.

Any player from Golden State is a upgrade to the rockets.

 

We got the best player in the trade at a more important position. Covington is a vastly superior defender that can cover every position on the court well.

 

The Rockets essentially want WB to operate offensively like a traditional center (when he's not assisting) and Clint didn't make as much sense anymore.

 

There are a lot of avenues and we will see what happens.

Today they discussed the possibility of taking a larger multi year contract for good draft picks or a more useful player.

Also the Rockets got the best player in the trade.

 

Clint is a really good player but Rob is better.

Covington stretches the defense which allows for better spacing, which is a big deal to teams like the Rockets.

Covington is a far more versatile player. He can play 3 different positions on the floor and never will need to sit for particular match ups.

Covington is a vastly superior defender that can effectively guard all 5 positions on the floor.

Capela is a vastly superior rebounder, but when adjusted for pace Covington would average 8-9 rebounds on the Rockets and even more if he spends more time at the 4/5.

 

If we wouldnt have given up a pick i would be fine with it but we are getting fleeced

 

Just read somewhere on here that the 12 player deal is set .... no additions.

Have to go another route to add anything .... TPE ? another trade ...

We'll have to agree to disagree on that one .... I think Capela will make multiple All Star games playing in Atlanta. He'll be back to pick and roll / rim running.

 

It cuts off larger deals but still can add 7.3 million

 

Maybe? But it's pretty subjective considering they play completely different roles.

Yeah, but by that justification, any player who can hit a 3 at a competent clip is better than Clint. Does that mean all competent 3-point shooters are better than all non-3-point shooters? It's not like Covington is even an exceptional 3-point shooter. He had a couple of really strong years in Philly, and I hope he can get back to that. But he's been pretty much just a slightly above average 3-point shooter most of his career.

Agreed on this, but versatility alone doesn't make someone better either. I think you could make a great case that interior defense and rim protection is more valuable than versatility on the perimeter. There's a reason why the vast majority of DPOY awards go to big men and why centers are referred to as "defensive anchors." Now, on Houston, a team that switches everything defensively, maybe that trait is more valued. That doesn't make it definitively better.

See note above.

Yeah, I mean they play different positions. I wouldn't expect at 6'7" forward to rebound as well as a 6'11" center. But that's kind of the point. These guys have two completely different skillsets, and just because the Rockets value one skillset over another doesn't necessarily make that player better or more talented. If you look at the barometers we typically use to judge NBA players, you could very easily make the case that Clint is the better player.

At the very least, the notion that Covington is so much better than Clint that he's worth an additional first round like the previous poster was hinting at is completely absurd. No matter what factors you use to judge athletes, these guys are similar talents who just happen to play very different brands of basketball.

 

One step closer to the rebuild