Welcome to the NBA Hangover. We jot down NBA stuff mostly from last night that we want to talk about. Check it out.
Clint Capela will move from the Rockets to the Hawks.
(PHOTO CREDIT: John Amis/AP.)
It’s not often we see this many teams and players involved in a trade like this. In fact, it’s been 20 years since we saw a trade this large.
(Taken from Basketball Reference.)
You can click on the pic if you can’t read it, dude. But yeah, that is a lot of movement.
So let’s try to make some sense in this 4-team, 12-player deal.
The Atlanta Hawks get: Clint Capela and Nene.
The Houston Rockets get: Robert Covington and Jordan Bell.
The Denver Nuggets get: Gerald Green, Shabazz Napier, Keita Bates-Diop, Noah Vonleh, and Houston’s 1st Round Pick.
The Minnesota Timberwolves get: Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez, Evan Turner, Jarred Vanderbilt, and Atlanta’s 1st Round Pick which was originally Brooklyn’s.
Chandler Parsons is being waived by Atlanta.
The Hawks get the center they had desperately looked for in Capela. Nene is as old as Moses so he doesn’t figure to make any impact at this point. But they get another weapon in the rim roller and lob catcher Capela. He’ll also cover ground on defense, too. Pretty good for the Hawks.
The Rockets get another wing in Covington. Bell has been a bit player to this point and I don’t know what role he’ll play with the Rockets. But they really seem to be going all in on a 5-out offense to open up lanes for James Harden and Russell Westbrook. Rebounding is going to be tough for these Rockets so they’re probably not done yet. Otherwise, they’ll have to rely on Tyson Chandler and Isaiah Hartenstein if they ever need the size to match. Covington is the prize, though, and he adds another three-point shooter and perimeter defender to Houston.
The Nuggets didn’t have a clear role for Beasley so he had to go. Maybe Bates-Diop will fill that role Denver wanted. Don’t know what role Vonleh would play and Gerald Green is out for the season with a foot injury. And Napier would be a #3 point guard behind Jamal Murray and Monte Morris. They did get a first round pick from Houston, though.
Is this leading to a bigger trade for Denver? Who knows?
As for the currently hapless Wolves? They’ve been trying to acquire D’Angelo Russell from the Warriors but that fell through. Not sure if these players acquired and the first round pick would prove to be better bait for whatever deal they’re going for; I doubt they’re settling for this deal alone. Beasley is probably going to stay with them; he has some upside. As it is, the only pure PG they have left on the roster is two-way player Jordan McLaughlin. Let’s hold off on further judgment until Thursday’s deadline.
So that’s been literally the biggest trade thus far. We’ll see if the next 24 hours bring more change. I DON’T expect too much, to be honest, because a lot of teams probably think they have enough to win the championship. Even though the Bucks and Lakers lead their respective conferences, I really don’t think they’re far and away the favorites.
Stay tuned.
Bullet Passes
Austin Rivers got the rebound that would’ve given James Harden a triple-double.
Austin Rivers stole the rebound that would have earned James Harden a triple-double 😅 pic.twitter.com/sQdHCd4HZ7
— ESPN (@espn) February 5, 2020
Austin seemed more upset about it than Harden did at the time.
Yo. Look at LeBron James make five straight threes in the fourth quarter.
(VIDEO CREDIT: Bleacher Report.)
Incredible.
Damian Lillard‘s incredible run has come to an end as the Nuggets kicked the Blazers in the face. Lillard ended with 21 points. He scored 34 or more points in his previous 8 games.
These behemoths known as Zion and Giannis did some battles in the paint. Give Zion a couple of years and it will be two rhinos just ramming at each other.
Dwight Howard is in the dunk contest (along with Aaron Gordon, Derrick Jones, Jr., and Pat Connaughton). Remember when he threw it out there that he wanted Kobe Bryant to help him in the dunk contest? Well, he revealed that it was supposed to be happening.
It really sucks that Kobe is gone. We’re still trying to work through it.
The Scoreboard
MIL 120 (43-7) @ NO 108 (20-31)
CHA 110 (16-35) @ HOU 125 (32-18)
POR 99 (23-28) @ DEN 127 (35-16)
SA 102 (23-28) @ LAL 129 (38-11)
Watch This Play
Gary Harris fakes and takes. Poor Hassan Whiteside.
Gary Harris ELEVATION.
📲💻: https://t.co/lZZApswzuX pic.twitter.com/CUZlJD2b1i
— NBA (@NBA) February 5, 2020
That was the start of the Nuggets’ beatdown against the Blazers.
GG.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
TNLP on FaceBook.
For the rest of the season, I will sign off with GG, which usually means “Good Game.” But we also know “Gigi” is Gianna Bryant’s nickname. This will be my tribute to her.