At 22, with how much he's already done, it's hard to put a ceiling on him. He could develop into an All-Star caliber player. That said, he isn't there now and has quite a ways to go.
A year and a half from now, I could see Clint being a more effective player and a more valuable commodity at $15 million per, than these 12 players. (Drummond, Gortat, Zeller, Biyombo, Dwight, Robin, Brook (Injuries), Jonas, Nerlens, Nurkic, Adams, Tristan) Out of this group, I like Zeller and Adams, but I see them both as having reached their potential for the most part. Nurkic is a bit of a wild card, but I see shades of Pekovic (and injuries) when I watch him play. That's 12 guys on the list, leaving Clint as the 11th. Myles Turner, Deandre Jordan, Hassan Whiteside and Lamarcus Aldridge are four guys that I could see him outperforming as well, all for various reasons. 1. Turner is very similar to Clint in terms of their development cycles and in my mind is one of Clint's main competitors on the list. 2. Deandre is already declining at an alarming rate, and with his style I'm not sure I'd want a 30 year old that can't play 4th quarters because of his free throws. He and Clint blocked the same amount of shots this year per minute, and Clint was far more active defending the rim in the playoffs. (0.8 BPG compared to 3.5 BPG) 3. Hassan has the brain of a small dog. His potential is sky high and crap low. Who knows If he can hold it together. Miami is still better defensively with him off the floor. 4. Lamarcus and his knees are rapidly declining. That leaves 7 players that I think will be tough for Clint to catch up to in 2018-19, because of the incredibly advanced skills that these guys possess. Marc Gasol Rudy Gobert Karl-Anthony Towns Nikola Jokic DeMarcus Cousins Al Horford Joel Embiid That said, Gasol and Horford will be getting up there in age, and can Joel Embiid play a full season? Will Cousins continue to disperse his cancer? Etc.
With all due respect..Are you out of your ****ing mind? No tangible proof of the Rockets being exceptional at developing bigs? Big E Moses Ralph Dream Yao & CC? As to resources, CD has worked with ALL of them. Moses tutored Dream ..Dream has helped with Yao...Etc, etc, etc.
Hopefully the rest of the league views him as you do, @knote32. That would mean his trade value is quite high. If the Spurs get Jordan Bell, Bell will be dominating Capela after his rookie season.
4 of 5 on your list played 20 to 30 years ago. Whether the Rockets organization developed them or they developed themselves is debateable. With Hakeem, Moses developed him as much as anyone. In either case, it is completely irrelevant to 2017 Rockets, which is what is in question here given its a thread about Clint Capela. And for every Yao - who himself is now a decade old regarding relevancy - there were plenty of bigs who developed not at all. And the most important big acquisition of the last decade was a worse post scorer here than he was earlier in his career - that's Dwight. Why was Dwight a bad post scorer and offensive player here?? because he's generally a bad post/offensive player. Why was Hakeem an amazing post scorer and offensive player here?? because he was generally an exceptional athlete with exceptional footwork and a soft, accurate shot. Why was Yao a great offensive post player here?? Because he was a great big man shooter that was 7'6. Please provide me examples of Rockets bigs over the last decade that have come out with as surprisingly good post/big man instincts and game and how the Rockets team/coaches contributed to that????
I like to view my Houston Rockets as Houston Rockets, and not just trade value, thank you. I too hope he realizes his potential, and I will enjoy every second of the process regardless. Jordan Bell huh? Well, I will be rooting for Houston drafted Clint Capela to beat his ass then.
Chuck Hayes. Jeff Van Gundy and Tom Thibodeau personally made Chuck Hayes into one of the most absurdly gifted defenders on the low block that I have ever seen. Chuck had a HUGE hand in the Rockets 22 game win streak, and is often cited by teammates as the leader of that team. He also had a hand in taking the championship Lakers to a game 7 when Yao and Deke went down. Clint Capela is the most recent example. BIg guy could barely walk when he first got in the league. Rockets have done a great job developing his confidence and his skills over the last 2-3 years. The jump hooks, the footwork, the defensive rotations, the freethrows: All vastly improved.
Also, to discount JVGs impact on Yao Ming's development is insane. JVG turned Yao into a force on both ends, and unfortunately Yao was hurt right before he was really getting started. He was putting 38-17s on a still relevant Shaq, and shoving prime Dwight Howard in the basket. JVG and Thibs made Yao nasty like he had never been before. Adelman/post-injury Yao was great, but never quite the same. With Hakeem, Yao and Dwight over the last 30 years, we haven't had a pressing need to draft bigs. What bigs with these late picks are you so adamant that we should have "developed"? Kelvin Cato? Terrence Jones?
Another one of those overrated Rockets fan favorites that everyone will overhype. He'd be better off as the backup to a proven player.
Responding to both of your posts here... I'm in no way saying the Rockets are incapable of developing big men. I just don't like the idea of the Rockets as a "big man academy". That implies the organization is exceptional in that area, ORGANIZATIONALLY, in a way that other organizations aren't. As for JVG and Thibs... ok... JVG last coached the Rockets in 2006-2007. As for Clint Capela... I think its a VERY big stretch to say the kid could barely walk when he got in the league. On the contrary, from day one I saw a kid that I was surprised about... precisely because form the time he was drafted until I finally started seeing some glimpses of him, I thought who is this stiff that looks like he can barely walk.
Who in the NBA would you say runs the "big man academy"? Let's just all cross our fingers for Nanu and Zhou!
I'm eagerly anticipating who becomes All-NBA first between Jordan Bell or Jared Uthoff. Should be a tight race.
Nobody?? I mean, I don't think any team really runs an academy at anything, lol. Like I said, its the NBA, all teams generally speaking are capable of developing players, especially since its predominantly on the players themselves. I mean, I guess I feel pretty good at saying the Spurs are solid at developing players, and improving shooting. One would have said Thibs runs a defensive academy, but we'll see with Minny. It comes down to the players. Zhou Qi in the post?? In the NBA?? Lol.
You're leaving out like at least 12 candidates. Lets add Hezonja, Zeller, Caris LeVert, Frank Mason, Holmes, Udoh, Thon Maker, Noel, Pierre Jackson, Dinwiddie and Rubio. I'm sure there is more that I haven't seen. I mean, if you name enough young players over the years I'm sure one is bound to break out into a superstar. Our faces will be rubbed in it hard when that happens.
Can Capela get more consistent and can he keep up his endurance to be a 30+ minute player every night with intensity? I don't know. He better make strides in that front next season before the Rockets have to pay him the big dollars. I am not down on Capela like _holic, but at the same time I have some doubts.
I hope to see some defensive, rebounding and toughness improvement from him next year. He is a good finisher and good at running p&r with James though.
I will be rooting for Capela as long as he's a Rocket. But all that rooting isn't going to make him a better player.
Reality is that CC is a work in p-r-o-g-r-e-s-s as pro-gress he has done; from D-League to Big Time from starting and getting overwhelmed, brrrrr-icking FTs to competing well, hitting FTs, and, from what I have been told, developing a very utile mid-range game on O. I am great-ly impressed with CC's development and don't find myself ready to feel he has capped out. If Capela is, or becomes, 'just' a system 5 but a good system 5 then I am good with that. Go CC!
