NBA Rumors: Clint Capela Might Sign Houston Rockets’ Qualifying Deal, Test Free Agency In 2019
The latest NBA rumors may be suggesting that the Houston Rockets are targeting Oklahoma City forward Carmelo Anthony, who is reportedly on his way out of the Thunder. However, with the team’s point guard rotation solidified after Chris Paul re-signed and Michael Carter-Williams joined up as a free agent, the Rockets’ number one question mark is at the center position, as restricted free agent Clint Capela has yet to re-sign with the team.
Based on the latest word behind the scenes, it appears that Capela’s talks with the Rockets have not been very productive so far. This was hinted at by ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne in a recent TV appearance, as USA Today’s Rockets Wire blog quoted her as saying that the initial meeting did not live up to the Swiss center’s expectations.
Shelburne added that there aren’t any “big long-term offers” that Capela would like to sign, and with that in mind, he might choose to sign the Rockets’ one-year, $4.7 million qualifying offer, and test the free agency waters for a bigger, longer-term contract during the 2019 offseason.
According to Rockets Wire, the possibility of Clint Capela returning to the Houston Rockets by signing the one-year qualifying deal is not where the Rockets want to be, as they appear intent on giving him a long-term contract. But if Capela does sign the qualifying offer, that would allow him to have veto power over any trades that Houston is involved in during the 2018-19 NBA season, and allow him to walk as an unrestricted free agent in the summer of 2019.
Would you like to see the Lakers sign Clint Capela? It reportedly is a scenario they're exploring.https://t.co/PR2oPnDF9X pic.twitter.com/H5knNZ6tXs
— Lakers Nation (@LakersNation) July 1, 2018
Prior to this month, there were rumors that pointed to the possibility of Capela signing with another team, with the Dallas Mavericks and Los Angeles Lakers among the teams said to be among the prime candidates for his services. The Lakers were reportedly set to meet with him earlier in the week, according to Lakers Nation, while the Mavericks, who were rumored to be going “all in” on Capela, as reported last month by the Inquisitr, ended up acquiring another center during the offseason when DeAndre Jordan opted out of his Clippers contract and agreed to sign with Dallas for one year.
Though he saw action in only 27.5 minutes per game in the 2017-18 NBA season, Clint Capela put up big numbers for the Houston Rockets, averaging 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 1.9 blocked shots per game, which were all career-highs for the fourth-year center, as shown on his Basketball-Reference player page.
