Smart move. Let the market determine his worth Plus we all know Joe Chee is our next great center. In Zhou Qi we trust
Clint has to prove himself among bigs...he still has a hard time sealing his man, and being able to rebound in traffic. Much of that is with experience... before the Rockets commit to Capela, I really expect Capela to step up as a defensive 5 first, something that he has really been poor at.
More like they want to re-sign a bunch of other players first, starting with CP3, before dealing with Capela since it is all but certain he will be receiving offers as a RFA.
Couldn't even get Melo or Wade, the Lesser Bananas, here. The money is preserved for Patrick Fertitta's inheritance.
Smart move assuming they have plans for free agency next Summer. I love Capela and think he's essential to what they do, but we'd be kidding ourselves if we thought he was somehow not replaceable. If you can get him back at a good deal in RFA... great. If he opts to become a UFA in 19/20 great.. you just got 4 years of a quality starting center at a bargain rate. If he gets overpaid next Summer with a high RFA deal, and we have to let him walk.... cool, we still got 3 starting center years at a bargain rate. Best case scenario... the Rockets do their business this Summer in FA first, and then either resign him or match a solid offer that is market value or less. Worst case scenario... the Rockets strike out in FA this Summer across the board, overpay Capela, and his performance declines Alternate scenario.... the Rockets do their business in FA this Summer at the expense of Capela, BUT the Rockets have done their due diligence to ensure that there is comparable options at the C spot ready to step in if the Rockets have to let Capela go and enjoy the fact that they got 3 years of starter center performance at a bargain rate. ...... Either way the Rockets are in really good shape with Capela as long as they plan for a scenario where they might have to allow Capela to walk in FA and appreciate several years of good performance at a bargain rate. I think the evidence is there that the Rockets front office might have already been planning for this the past year. I doubt Zhou is viewed as "the answer if..." but I think you'll see them look at and invest alot of time in players like him this next year or so. I wouldn't be surprised if we see a trade or two for a young big that looks like a small deal at first but is future planning in mind. Any scenario we can think of with Capela, the front office has already thought about it 10X as much as we have I'm sure. I'm not concerned either way.
