Celtics looking into Capela

Kliq

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I like Capela fine but he can't step out at all like Theis can (even Kanter can at least hit a J from 15 feet every now and then), and so much of his "offense" is based around catching lobs and I don't trust a single player on the Celtics roster to be able to make that work. Harden has so much gravitational force on offense.
I'm in the same boat. Having a lane-clogging Center probably isn't the way to go when you have a 6" point guard as your primary creator.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Capela doesn't seem like the sort of player Ainge or Stevens values but its possible.

I also feel the attraction to him as a player is a function of very specific matchups or simply because some people are holding on to the notion of a traditional low post player being an essential part of a contending roster. I would refer those people back to the Goldsberry Tweet showing how the game is played offensively versus ~20 years ago. That isn't to say Capela is bad - he is not. But his skillset, while very good, is limited vs what elite bigs do these days.
 

RedOctober3829

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Capela doesn't seem like the sort of player Ainge or Stevens values but its possible.

I also feel the attraction to him as a player is a function of very specific matchups or simply because some people are holding on to the notion of a traditional low post player being an essential part of a contending roster. I would refer those people back to the Goldsberry Tweet showing how the game is played offensively versus ~20 years ago. That isn't to say Capela is bad - he is not. But his skillset, while very good, is limited vs what elite bigs do these days.
They had discussions about Capela with the Rockets last offseason.

View: https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2841745-clint-capela-trade-rumors-celtics-have-checked-in-on-move-for-rockets-star
 
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the moops

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I also feel the attraction to him as a player is a function of very specific matchups or simply because some people are holding on to the notion of a traditional low post player being an essential part of a contending roster.
Capela is hardly a traditional low post player. He doens't shoot the three, but he not Enes Kanter on the block.

I don't know. I feel like either people are way underselling Capela, or way overselling Theis. Or perhaps a combo of the two.
 

lovegtm

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Capela is hardly a traditional low post player. He doens't shoot the three, but he not Enes Kanter on the block.

I don't know. I feel like either people are way underselling Capela, or way overselling Theis. Or perhaps a combo of the two.
The Capela from 2-3 years ago (who I would have LOVED for this iteration of the Celtics) hasn't been that guy lately, for whatever reason. Theis has also taken a massive and unexpected leap.

It was pretty revealing when he got his huge contract, partied all summer, and showed up fall 2018 really out of shape.
 

Kliq

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Capela is probably a better player; he is an elite rebounder, good shot-blocker and a very good screen setter that can ram home any alley-oop thrown his way. Theis though feels like a better player for the Celtics and he is certainly a better value. Theis' switchability on defense, and semi-respectability from the three point line are key to the Celtics both on offense and defense.
 

benhogan

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I'll just echo what most are saying: The Capela slight upgrade isn't worth Theis, Langford, pick (& extra $13MM/yr in cost of CC over Theis)
I'll continue to bang the drum on multiple, cheap 5s (like GSW) and want Danny to spend most of the cap on Wings/PG.

Also, Hayward's contract/option will be a dynamic situation this summer and having Capela at $18MM/yr may reduce the Celtics flexibility in making the most attractive deal.

Just need a couple of low-cost moves (target: Poeltl & Bjelica) that doesn't disrupt the top 7 players(starters, Smart, Kanter) and key rookies (Grant, Romeo, Waters). AND retains payroll flexibility with Brown and Tatum eventually getting expensive.
 
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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Capela is hardly a traditional low post player. He doens't shoot the three, but he not Enes Kanter on the block.

I don't know. I feel like either people are way underselling Capela, or way overselling Theis. Or perhaps a combo of the two.
Ok, to clarify, he isn't traditional in that he offers perimeter defense. But the guy doesn't offer any sort of floor spacing on offense and the C's, like most other teams in the league, really seem to value that skill.


Once again, I don't dislike Capela because he does some things very well. And the guy always seems to play with a lot of energy but not sure that is a reason to deal with him.

I saw that report - and I think Boston kicks the tires on everyone. What we don't know is (a) how serious they were about acquiring him and (b) what their plans were. Perhaps they saw him as their next starting big or perhaps Ainge had a bigger deal in place where he would staple something to Capela and send him elsewhere.

I stand by by my view - and to clarify - that Capela's lack of spacing on offense makes him a sub-optimal fit on a Stevens coached team. They can certainly make it work but I don't think its their first choice for an upgrade (if you can even characterize it as such). I also think people pining for him have a different view than I do about how the game is played.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Two guys I like for different reasons that look to be somewhat available: Dario Saric, who is a different way to meet the 'big who can shoot' interest though weak defensively; and Harry Giles, who I have seen a couple times look like a legit prospect. Contractually, you don't get a lot with Giles and he may not be able to contribute a lot this year, but I kind of like the gamble there.
 

Reardon's Beard

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They could really use a quicker big man on this roster. Theis is not big enough although plays bigger than he is, and Kanter is too slow and injury prone to give me much confidence against the elite bigs of the NBA. For purely defensive/match up purposes they need depth there if at all possible. I'd say they are square everywhere else.

Otherwise keep Kanter healthy and march on.
 

Seels

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I don't understand why the Rockets are interested in trading him. Granted I'm a casual basketball fan but the Rockets are contenders and he's seemingly their 2nd or 3rd best player.
 

lovegtm

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Duncan and Hollinger did a good inside baseball podcast recently about front office trade dynamics. Hollinger said that the Rockets are notorious for always always always coming at you all day with ridiculous low-ball offers. It's just their schtick.
Probably because the Rockets have diddly squat to offer outside of a couple of guys.
 

lovegtm

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Probably because the Rockets have diddly squat to offer outside of a couple of guys.
This wasn't about the current situation; it was a discussion of Morey's MO over the years, and how most front offices kind of just roll their eyes at it.
 

scottyno

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No idea what he would cost, but would much rather trade some combo of the young bench players and picks for Bertans than include Theis or Kanter for Capela.

If they got Capela it probably means Hayward is gone for sure if he declines his option, that would be 3 max/near max guys, probably close to a max for hayward, and a decent amount for Smart and Capela. That's something like 150m for 6 guys in 2 years before you even add the rest of the roster.
 

lovegtm

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No idea what he would cost, but would much rather trade some combo of the young bench players and picks for Bertans than include Theis or Kanter for Capela.

If they got Capela it probably means Hayward is gone for sure if he declines his option, that would be 3 max/near max guys, probably close to a max for hayward, and a decent amount for Smart and Capela. That's something like 150m for 6 guys in 2 years before you even add the rest of the roster.
The issue with Bertans is that he's going to get paid in UFA, probably 15-20M, so you end up with the same issue as with Capela.

I suppose it could be done with the intent of doing a Hayward S&T, but you then have to further give up picks to dump the expirings you presumably get in a Hayward deal, or you'll be way into the tax.

The issue we’re going to keep revisiting over and over is that this roster makes more sense with an elite shooter+solid big making a combined 20-30M than it does with Hayward making 25-34M.

Hayward is really good, but the Jays+Kemba+Smart make more sense as the core.
 

benhogan

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Jared Weiss, the Athletic, take on Capela/Theis deal

Maybe a year or so ago, trading Theis for Clint Capela would have been a no-brainer. Now it’s become a pretty hazy assessment. It seems like the players are trending in the opposite direction, as Theis has taken a big step forward while Capela just hasn’t been the same in Houston this year. It could be the “heel soreness” that has kept him out the past week and could keep him out for a few more. But while Capela has certainly looked like he is dragging of late, the concerns go back to even early in the season. His points per possession as a cutter and a roll man have dropped this season, and the film doesn’t help his cause. He definitely fits better with James Harden’s slower-paced pick-and-roll style than Russell Westbrook’s frantic energy, so there’s a good chance he could function more effectively with Boston’s playmakers.

But my bigger concern with Capela is that his defense has been way below the standard he previously set. His feet have been slow on the pick and roll, he doesn’t welcome early contact defending in the pivot and he looks like he is mostly just going for blocks. One of Theis’ best tools in his defensive technique is his body control and the way he goes up with two hands instead of trying to swat the ball. Capela is pretty much playing the opposite way and has been regressing over the season. He just plays too loose and sluggish, while Theis is always in his stance and moves pretty well most of the time. But at the same time, we’ve seen how much of a force Capela can be in the playoffs.


https://theathletic.com/1581003/2020/02/03/celtics-nba-trade-deadline-gordon-hayward/
 

BigSoxFan

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This wasn't about the current situation; it was a discussion of Morey's MO over the years, and how most front offices kind of just roll their eyes at it.
I recognized that. My point is that he never has anything to trade since his roster is always so top heavy so every offer is going to be low ball offer.
 

Reardon's Beard

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For what he means to this team in hustle, leadership, defense, and increasingly offensive ability, Smart is nearly untouchable in my view. Certainly not in this conversation simply upgrading at the 5.

Make it work another way and I think you could make a convincing argument. My question: how would Capela fit into this system, and could he actually play even better than he has elsewhere?
 

shoelace

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I'm with the camp that doesn't see Capela as an upgrade over Theis, so trading him along with other assets for Capela doesn't seem like an ideal use of resources. I could see the logic of building a package around Kanter if they feel like they want to have one of Capela/Theis on the floor at all times.
 

bosockboy

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I'm with the camp that doesn't see Capela as an upgrade over Theis, so trading him along with other assets for Capela doesn't seem like an ideal use of resources. I could see the logic of building a package around Kanter if they feel like they want to have one of Capela/Theis on the floor at all times.
Agreed. That makes us pretty deep.
 

Jimbodandy

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Jared Weiss, the Athletic, take on Capela/Theis deal

Maybe a year or so ago, trading Theis for Clint Capela would have been a no-brainer. Now it’s become a pretty hazy assessment. It seems like the players are trending in the opposite direction, as Theis has taken a big step forward while Capela just hasn’t been the same in Houston this year. It could be the “heel soreness” that has kept him out the past week and could keep him out for a few more. But while Capela has certainly looked like he is dragging of late, the concerns go back to even early in the season. His points per possession as a cutter and a roll man have dropped this season, and the film doesn’t help his cause. He definitely fits better with James Harden’s slower-paced pick-and-roll style than Russell Westbrook’s frantic energy, so there’s a good chance he could function more effectively with Boston’s playmakers.

But my bigger concern with Capela is that his defense has been way below the standard he previously set. His feet have been slow on the pick and roll, he doesn’t welcome early contact defending in the pivot and he looks like he is mostly just going for blocks. One of Theis’ best tools in his defensive technique is his body control and the way he goes up with two hands instead of trying to swat the ball. Capela is pretty much playing the opposite way and has been regressing over the season. He just plays too loose and sluggish, while Theis is always in his stance and moves pretty well most of the time. But at the same time, we’ve seen how much of a force Capela can be in the playoffs.


https://theathletic.com/1581003/2020/02/03/celtics-nba-trade-deadline-gordon-hayward/
Matches the eye test, but it's not going to sit well with the people that think that you have to add picks to Bogdan in order to get Kuzma (i.e. the hoop twitterverse).
 

InstaFace

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Moving some posts from the Celtics Regular Season Thread over here:

It isn’t by choice. Houston is requiring a #1 in return and we need to match $10m in salary. For that purpose, Langford would almost certainly have to be included which would also clear his dead future salary off the books if he isn’t able to contribute.

Moving one of our #1’s was going to happen anyway since it wouldn’t be prudent to add 3 more multi-year guaranteed deals who likely wouldn’t contribute much to the rotation as rookies.
I'd rather move Carsen Edwards + Poirier than Langford if we had to unload $3.6M worth of salary. I see more promise in him than either of the other two, in terms of NBA-level athleticism.

I'm all-in on moving some of our picks to upgrade the rotation, maybe even Memphis if the return is right. We simply don't have enough roster spots to go around, even accounting for letting fringe players compete to show they deserve a spot. The unspoken clause to the GM's dictum, "acquire more picks", is that in the NBA's case, they need to be GOOD picks.
I think everyone would agree. Problem is that Langford still has some positive value, while Poirier has shown nothing and Edwards is a 2nd round pick who hasn't shot the ball well in his limited time. So the question would be how much draft pick compensation you would need to include to equal out the difference in value between Langford and Edwards/Poirier
Houston is in 5th place in the west, with Capela the 4th-leading minutes-getter on the team. He has missed a handful of games over the season, but also 3 of the last 4 for Houston. So what we know suggests that:
- He is a starter and critical part of rotation for them, regardless of whether you think he's lost a step or not, and
- He presents at least some injury risk

The first suggests that the threshold of value to send to Morey would be prohibitive in terms of upgrading the team this year. The second suggests that it may well be worth it to stick to the assets we have (especially given Capela's contract at 3 @ ~$18 after this year at $16).

In a vacuum I'd have no problem replacing one of our centers with Capela, nor in trading one or more picks, but once you include his trendline, the salary (which is all luxury tax for us at this point), AND the asset price required to get Houston to move, it seems hard to believe there's a deal there that's worth discussing.
 

scottyno

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The issue with Bertans is that he's going to get paid in UFA, probably 15-20M, so you end up with the same issue as with Capela.

I suppose it could be done with the intent of doing a Hayward S&T, but you then have to further give up picks to dump the expirings you presumably get in a Hayward deal, or you'll be way into the tax.

The issue we’re going to keep revisiting over and over is that this roster makes more sense with an elite shooter+solid big making a combined 20-30M than it does with Hayward making 25-34M.

Hayward is really good, but the Jays+Kemba+Smart make more sense as the core.
I'd much rather pay Bertans 15-20m than Capela if it came down to that, he fits much better in the modern NBA and the Celtics offense. Bertans takes Williams and Semi's minutes mostly, and you lock in your 8 man playoff rotation. Maybe he ends up only being a rental, but I want no part of paying a non shooting big close to 20m for multiple years at the expense of a shooter, at least Bertans is a great shooter.

Now this might all be irrelevant because who knows if Langford, Porier/Williams and picks gets you Bertans, but I'd definitely explore that before sending it all off for Capela.
 

luckiestman

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Ive always loved Capela so I have a tough time evaluating this fairly. He would have to have fallen of a cliff to not be Theis level but some of you seem to be saying he has. I will have to trust 44.
 

benhogan

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Ive always loved Capela so I have a tough time evaluating this fairly. He would have to have fallen of a cliff to not be Theis level but some of you seem to be saying he has. I will have to trust 44.
straight up, Capela is better than Daniel Theis.

It's just the cost of acquisition + having to pay him big bucks for numerous years is not worth the upgrade.

The Celtics are better off seeing what Langford becomes and using all that extra salary on several 5s that combined are as efficient as Capela
 

Sam Ray Not

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Makes Atlanta better. Capela is a nice upgrade over Jones/Lens
Heck, Omari Spellman (currently 39.4% from three on 109 attempts, 81.8% FT) is a nice upgrade over Damian Jones. That was a nice little UTR move by Myers. I wish I could have Spellman's shooting, skills, and toughness in DJ's body, but that guy would be making Capela money.