NBA Trade: Shaquille O’neal, Dwyane Wade, React Over Houston Rockets’ Unique Situation

KEY POINTS

The Houston Rockets shipped their starting center in a 4-team deal before the trade deadline
The Houston Rockets have now committed to a small-ball lineup
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwyane Wade react on this unique situation

One of the most rumored assets of the Houston Rockets took center stage yesterday in the NBA trade discussion. Big man Clint Capela was a pivotal piece of a four-team trade that included the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets.

The Houston Rockets would get Robert Covington and Jordan Bell from the Minnesota Timberwolves along with the 2024 second-round pick of the Atlanta Hawks. The Minnesota Timberwolves will get former second overall pick Evan Turner and the Atlanta Hawks’ 2020 first-round pick. The Atlanta Hawks will get Clint Capela and Nene. And the Denver Nuggets will get Keita Bates-Diop, Shabazz Napier, Noah Vonleh and Gerald Green along with a 2020 first-round pick.

The complex trade left the Houston Rockets in a peculiar situation. After shipping their starting center for Robert Covington, their starting line up is in a unique predicament. Their tallest player in the starting five is listed at 6 foot 7.

The Houston Rockets have switched to the small-ball approach. They are currently 3-0 in their smaller lineup and is the first time since 1963 without anyone fielded on the court taller than 6 foot 6.

Trading away Clint Capela shows that the Houston Rockets are fully committed to their unique situation.

To be clear, the Rockets aren't searching for a starting center. They're playing small-ball and rolling with PJ Tucker at the 5. But they need a big to throw at Nikola Jokic, Anthony Davis, etc. in the playoffs. https://t.co/y6d8l9HnWG
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) February 5, 2020

This strategy, however, irked a skeptical reaction from LA Lakers' great Shaquille O’Neal. “That’s cute,” said the 7-footer. “However, the top teams have big, lengthy people,” he continued as he emphasized that teams need to crash rebounds and defend the basket.

“I like that for Houston. Robert Covington is a great defender,” said three-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade. But he also added later on that it’s important to have big guys to complement the high-octane offense Houston is capable of.

The Houston Rockets are now in fifth place in the Western Conference. They are at 32-18 and are aiming to get the home-court advantage come playoff time. The team is only one loss behind the Utah Jazz. James Harden and Russell Westbrook lead the way in the small ball experiment of the Houston Rockets. James Harden is averaging 35.8 points, 7.3 assists and 6.5 rebounds per game. Russell Westbrook is tallying 26.4 points, 7.4 assists and 8 rebounds per game.