Rockets trade Capela to Hawks, land Covington in 4-team swap
The Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, and Denver Nuggets completed a four-team trade centered around Robert Covington and Clint Capela, the Rockets announced.
Houston will acquire Covington, while Capela and Nene are being sent to Atlanta. The entire trade involves 12 players and breaks down as follows:
- Houston receives: Covington, Jordan Bell, and a second-round pick
- Atlanta receives: Capela and Nene
- Minnesota receives: Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Evan Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt, and a 2020 first-round pick from the Hawks (via the Brooklyn Nets)
- Denver receives: Gerald Green, Noah Vonleh, Shabazz Napier, Keita Bates Diop, and a future first-round pick from the Rockets
The Hawks are waiving forward Chandler Parsons and his $25.1-million expiring contract in order to create roster space for the trade to be completed.
Minnesota, Houston, and Atlanta had been in discussions with the Golden State Warriors earlier in the day regarding a four-team deal that may have included D'Angelo Russell heading to the Timberwolves. The Warriors moved on from talks with Minnesota after the latter reportedly failed to meet their price point for the star guard.
The Rockets had long been targeting Covington as a wing upgrade. The 29-year-old forward is averaging 12.9 points and six rebounds over 48 games this season with Minnesota.
Capela will round out a young but intriguing frontcourt in Atlanta with forward John Collins, while the franchise is set at point guard for the foreseeable future with All-Star Trae Young. The Swiss center is recording 13.9 points and 13.8 rebounds per game in his sixth NBA season, though he has missed three of his last four contests with a heel injury.