On Friday, the Houston Rockets and forward, Clint Capela agreed and signed a five-year $90 million contract extension.
One of the last notable names in this summer’s NBA free agency frenzy, Capela, 24, was a key cog in last season’s Rockets team. He averaged 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, while shooting a league-best 65.2 percent from the field.
Knowing his worth came with some complications this summer.
Capela sought a contract extension comparable to the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert who got a four year, $102 million extension in 2016 and the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Steven Adams who received four years, $100 million in 2016, as well.
Is he worth that?
“Capela isn’t underrated or overrated,” former Houston Rocket and seven time NBA champion Robert Horry told me on the Scoop B Radio Podcast.
Robert Horry & Brandon ‘Scoop B’ Robinson chat on Scoop B Radio. Press Play Below To Listen!https://www.youtube.com/embed/6C4IHhFJSLM
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“What I mean by that is he gets a lot of points because of James Harden. I had the pleasure of playing with Jason Kidd for one game and I got a lot of points because of him. The thing is, if you go to another team do you have that type of player that can make you better like that? I think about all the bigs I played with Dream and Shaq I got more dunks because I would kick it and slash and then you go to somebody else like Fabricio [Oberto] and you throw it to him and your man is not going to leave you.”
For those keeping score at home, Fabricio Oberto played in the NBA from 2005-2010 playing for the Washington Wizards, Portland Trail Blazers and the San Antonio Spurs and averaging 7.7 points per game.
Oberto won a championship with Horry as a member of the Spurs in 2007.
As for Clint Capela, he was in the running for the NBA’s Most Improved Player of the Year award, this past season. The Swiss-born, Capela, became the youngest Rocket since Horry’s teammate, Hakeem Olajuwon to have at least 23 points and 25 rebounds in a game.
“Just because you did this and that does that make you an elite player,” said Horry.
“Everybody says he wants to get max money and to me he is not a max player because he is just a player who got a lot of dunks off a really good player who drew a big crowd.”