Houston Rockets Rumors: Why talks for a DeAndre Jordan swap froze

The Houston Rockets have apparently been quite active on the trade talks front before the rapidly-approaching Feb. 8 deadline and one tidbit indicates that the franchise has and — still does — have interest in center DeAndre Jordan. There were talks that were made but they’ve stalled. Why?

The Houston Rockets are working fast and furiously toward trying to get something done before the NBA Trade Deadline. The question is if something is actually going to happen? I seriously have my doubts but there’s nothing wrong with kicking the tires on the multitude of assets that are available to make this team even better.

The Houston Rockets lack the movable assets to complete any blockbuster deals as Daryl Morey already created shock waves with his eight-player trade to pluck Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers this past summer. Making a deal without moving a player that provides a tremendous boost to this team’s production on both sides of the hardwood will be difficult.

Sure, the easy out is indicating that Ryan Anderson is available for a trade but it doesn’t work that way. Although Anderson‘s calling card is his marksmanship behind-the-arc, his overall value is way less than the $20 million per season he’s making though the 2019-20 season. If Anderson’s price were lower, I’m sure he would’ve been gone a long time ago. A deal involving him will require to the Houston Rockets to give even more assets to help with the additional salary that the buyer will be taking on.

Need more opinion? Take a listen to Houston Sports Talk, my favorite podcast as host Robert Land talks to KPRC’s Adam Wexler:

Anderson is the equivalent of one trying to flip a house that has a upside-down mortgage on it. It can be hard sell but with some ingenuity, it can be done. It’s just not wise to deal him now and wait until more of his contract matures over time. I’m sure Morey felt that he was overpaying him when he made deal two seasons ago but quite honestly, with the cap space this team had, he needed to give the money to someone and Anderson was the fortunate beneficiary.

But anyway, back to what I was getting at. The Houston Rockets are serious in trying to get a deal

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done for DeAndre Jordan but according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com, talks have stalled because the minute Clint Capela was mentioned in those discussions, they ran into a brick wall higher than the likes we’ve ever seen.

Capela has tremendous value for the Rockets as he’s a “new-age” center that can run quickly with teams and can seamlessly immerse himself in pick-and-rolls at breakneck pace, freeing up other teammates. As opposed to yesteryear, he’s not the focal point of the offense but an important facet of it. This is exactly the reason why Dwight Howard didn’t work here in Houston because he refused to accept the role that Capela currently embraced fully.

Howard wanted the ball at all times and the offense became a boring, dysfunctional piece of mess that resulted in the team finishing 41-41 back in 2015-16 and Howard effectively saying his goodbyes to the franchise. In order to stay competitive and fresh, one has to change and because D12 didn’t, he’ll be a journeyman for the rest of his playing career.

Jordan has rolled with the punches and still has excellent value. For the very reason why all of this trade talk broke down, is reason why dealing for Jordan with Capela included in the deal being a disaster. I went into detail about this week so take a look here for more commentary on that.

Maybe the Rockets will have a change of heart on Capela but I seriously doubt it. It would be a

HUGE MISTAKE to deal him now when he’s about to hit the cusp of his prime. DON’T DO IT MOREY!

Next: What a Bobby Brown re-sign signals to Rockets fans

We’ll have to see if the plot thickens before the trade deadline but I imagine all of the action is going to occur the day of, minutes before the cutoff.

Jordan, 29, is averaging 11.9 points and 14.7 rebounds per game while shooting 66.6 percent from the field and 60.3 percent from the charity stripe — a career-high by the way — through 43 games this season.

Go Rockets.

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