The second most important off-season signing for the Rockets finally happened over the weekend. It may have been late in coming; no doubt, Clint Capela found himself wondering in three-plus weeks of waiting if the red and white valued him as much as he thought they did. Nonetheless, it was clear to all and sundry that neither side would be ending up anywhere else but together. They’re a good fit. Actually, they’re a great fit, and as relatively limited as his skill set seems, it blends perfectly with those of resident top dogs James Harden and Chris Paul.
Granted, the center position has little by little gone the way of the Dodo in the pace-and-space era. And, granted, Capela has no touch to speak of; his range doesn’t extend beyond the shaded area, and he’s more likely to clog the lane than open it up with his shooting. On the other hand, he has no peer when it comes to setting picks and rolling to the hoop. Screen-play action pieces, from where most of the Rockets’ offense emanate, meet with considerable success precisely because he knows how to position his body in order to set ball handlers — or, just as importantly, himself — free.
Make no mistake. Were Capela easy to replace, the Rockets would have done so in a heartbeat and thus avoided carrying the fourth highest payroll in the National Basketball Association. As a restricted free agent, he would have been left to accept a qualifying offer of $4.3 million as a prelude to his certain departure next year. Instead, they handed him a five-year extension worth a whopping $90 million. And even as the aggregate figure falls somewhere in the middle of comparable deals for slotmen, his take-home pay signifies his employers’ acknowledgment of his importance.
The numbers don’t lie, and not for nothing did the Rockets go a remarkable 42 and three in the regular season when Capela suited up alongside Harden and Paul. And if they then went on to come two quarters short of a Finals berth, it’s in no small measure due to his capacity to likewise anchor a suffocating defense. They’re projected to be worse on that end in the coming season, what with versatile wings Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute gone and net-negative defender Carmelo Anthony slated to join them, but for as long as he’s around, they’ll be closer to respectable than poor.
Perhaps the Rockets will come to rue Capela’s contract on the back end. If they do, however, it won’t be because he didn’t earn his keep. Rather, it’s because their investment in him is tied to their capacity to legitimately cast moist eyes on the hardware. And this depends for the most part on Harden and Paul, with the latter their biggest risk at an old 33. Their championship window is closing, and fast. It’s why they pulled the trigger on retaining him, and why he’s no longer “#JustAKidFromGeneva,” his Instagram post notwithstanding.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994.
