Leveraging a moveable $7 million contract, Houston could swap their aging veteran for younger frontcourt depth to bolster the bench before the Western Conference arms race intensifies.
The NBA offseason is already in full swing as we’re nearing the end of the month. Free agency hasn’t even officially started and teams around the league are already looking different.
While the Houston Rockets’ roster might not ultimately look all that different, as covered on Roundtable, they still could make some minor changes. One of their most tradable contracts seems to be Clint Capela.
He’s set to make just a hair over $7 million this season, which is almost nothing in the NBA. The only problem comes with his $7.37 million that’s already guaranteed for the 2026-2027 season.
In the event that another team would be willing to take on the extra year of salary, there’s some intriguing players with comparable contracts for the Rockets to look at.
Goga Bitadze
The Orlando Magic might not be in any rush to move their backup big man, but he is a pretty valuable player. That’s not based on the stats he puts up or his All-Star potential though.
He’s just a solid backup big man who only makes $7.6 million in this last year of his contract. A definite upgrade over this version of Clint Capela, as sad as that is to say.
I think a lot of teams around the league would want him, but why not jump in and make an offer first? We’ve seen plenty of guys flying off the table for not much compensation at all.
Jaylin Williams
The Oklahoma City Thunder are in a tax conundrum at the moment, looking to shed as much salary as possible. That’s the luxury of having three All-Stars in today’s NBA.
They’ve already shipped out two very solid players in Isaiah Joe and Aaron Wiggins, but only got future second round picks in return. A salary dump at its finest.
They also just let Kendrich Williams walk away for nothing, assuming they don’t come to terms on a new contract. Their bench has been getting much thinner.
For that reason, think the Rockets would have to offer quite a bit extra in terms of picks, but a trade involving J-Will’s $7.77 million would technically give OKC a bit more cap relief.
Maybe OKC can be convinced that Chet Holmgren needs a veteran center to help him toughen up. We all saw how scared he looked as the Thunder were eliminated, so they could definitely use the help.
Conclusion
These trades might be long shots, but it’s worth picking the phone up for. Houston’s back up big men are currently aging fast and could realistically go down at any time. Why not be proactive and try to make improvements?
