Dallas Mavericks: How the trade deadline impacted the Mavs

Rockets embracing small ball

The Houston Rockets made arguably the biggest move at the deadline. They traded away Clint Capela, Nene Hilario, and first round pick to secure the services of Robert Covington in a massive four-team trade.

Houston has decided they want to play small with P.J. Tucker as their center. They have Russell Westbrook who struggles from 3-point range. Houston is trying to improve their spacing by adding Covington to replace Capela.

The Rockets used their new lineup for the first time against the Lakers on Thursday. Covington had 14 points and eight rebounds in their 121-111 win in Los Angeles.

Houston’s experiment will make them a difficult matchup in the playoffs. They will draw Kristaps Porzingis and other bigs out of the paint opening the rim for drives by James Harden and Westbrook. The Mavericks will have a plan to stop them, though. The series would certainly have plenty of storylines to follow.

Hawks get Capela

Former Rockets center Clint Capela heads to Atlanta to play with Trae Young. It will be interesting to see the fit in the frontcourt next to John Collins. The Dallas Mavericks face the Hawks for the final time on Feb. 22, but that will be the only impact this season.

It will be interesting to see how Atlanta can build their team around Young, Capela, and Collins. They are hoping to be competing alongside the Mavs for the next decade-plus. Adding Capela gives them another building block.

Next: Wolves busy at deadline