The Boston Celtics are out of the running to trade for Houston Rockets center Clint Capela, who is now headed to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a four-team blockbuster trade, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
Boston had been linked earlier in the week to the rim-running big, and could have had the player contracts and draft assets to get into the mix, but ultimately passed when it came time to pull the trigger on any deal.
The Boston Globe’s Adam Himmelsbach reports the Rockets had initiated the trade talks, but Boston balked at the initial asking price, which never came down.
Instead, a rare four-team trade will send Capela to Atlanta along with veteran center Nene Hilario, the Minnesota Timberwolves will land guard Malik Beasley, big man Juancho Hernangomez and forward Jarred Vanderbilt from the Denver Nuggets and wing Evan Turner from the Hawks, reports NBA.com’s Michael C. Wright.
Sources: Minnesota trading Shabazz Napier to Denver. Nuggets sending Jarred Vanderbilt to Timberwolves. https://t.co/3YpbhniEYP
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 5, 2020
Denver will get wing Gerald Green (out for the year with a foot fracture), forward Keita Bates-Diop, forward Noah Vonleh, point guard Shabazz Napier and a second-round pick.
Houston will receive forward Robert Covington from the Timberwolves, center Jordan Bell and a second-round pick.
To what extent Boston had serious interest in acquiring the services of the now-Atlanta Hawk may never be truly known.
With Capela off the board as a trade target, team president Danny Ainge’s comments about the Celtics looking to fortify their bench line up well with what we’re seeing from the first big move of the trade deadline.
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