Houston Rockets are putting their eggs in one basket with Covington trade

By shipping Clint Capela to Atlanta and bringing in Robert Covington, the Houston Rockets are going all-in on the idea of small ball.

The NBA trade deadline has yet to get here, but teams are already going bananas on the market. Initially reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Houston Rockets were involved in a four-team deal centered around Clint Capela and Robert Covington.

Covington, a versatile 3-and-D player that can play both on the wing and at power forward, was one of the most highly sought-after names available. The Minnesota Timberwolves were trending in the wrong direction and because he has another two years left on his current deal, the opportunity to deal Covington made a ton of sense.

Houston, currently the fifth seed in the Western Conference, possesses one of the most dynamic offenses in the league. Needing some consistency on the wing and also defensive assistance in the same area, Covington is a perfect fit in the system. How much he’d help has been talked about for several weeks.

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Aside from the Rockets and Timberwolves, included in the trade were the Atlanta Hawks and the Denver Nuggets. There are plenty of moving parts to consider here but at the end of the day, the major components to take into consideration are Capela leaving and Covington entering. Aside from that, the Rockets also get Jordan Bell and a 2024 second-round draft pick.

Capela, who has been battling a heel injury, is averaging a career-high 13.8 rebounds per game. He remains an effective rim-runner and packs some punch on defense, but both his ceiling and the team’s ceiling may have been reached as currently constructed.

In the 11 games Capela missed this season, the Rockets went 10-1. He is still just 25 years old and is in the second year of a five-year, $90 million contract. Perhaps joining the Hawks and young star Trae Young will benefit him.

On the other end of things, Houston is going to be playing a lot of small ball moving forward. Barring another move for a starting center, 6’5″ P.J. Tucker is expected to play plenty of center, with Covington sliding in at power forward. The starting lineup should look like this:

• Point guard: Russell Westbrook (6-foot-3)
• Shooting guard: James Harden (6-foot-5)
• Small forward: Danuel House (6-foot-6)
• Power forward: Covington (6-foot-7)
• Center: Tucker

Two problems could arise as a result of this trade. First and foremost, interior defense will be an issue. Tucker will probably have a difficult time keeping up with the likes of Anthony Davis, Rudy Gobert or Nikola Jokic. Once the playoffs roll around, that deficiency could be amplified. Wojnarowski’s article elaborates further:

"“Using such small lineups creates defensive and rebounding challenges, but D’Antoni says he believes those are outweighed by the offensive opportunities for Harden and Westbrook with a wide-open floor.”"

Mike D’Antoni, head coach of the Houston Rockets, does have a good point. While a Covington/Tucker duo down low may not make a ton of sense defensively and for rebounding purposes, they both serve as terrific floor spacers on offense. The team’s system has always been predicated upon being able to hit 3-point shots and get quality looks. This trade unclogs the paint and adds another threat from deep.

The Rockets’ backs are up against the wall. Bell is a solid option as a backup center in the event D’Antoni needs a big body on defense or to rebound but other than that, he’s an afterthought in this transaction. The big fish, Covington, is back where he started his career in 2013. This time around, though, things are different.

The Westbrook and Harden experiment has had plenty of ups and downs throughout the course of this season. The Houston Rockets have come so close to reaching the NBA Finals in the past. Does shipping away Capela and bringing in Covington make them a cream of the crop contender? The next few months will tell us all we need to know.