Houston Rockets fifth-year big man Clint Capela is in the midst of the best season of his career. After signing a huge five-year extension last summer to the tune of $90 million, the 24-year-old has already proven to the basketball world that he is definitely worth every single penny of his deal.
However, it appears that Capela is set to miss out on two particular performance bonuses this season due to his inability to meet a couple of predetermined statistical targets:
It’s becoming increasingly likely Clint Capela won’t earn either $500K bonus, for 65% FT (currently 62.4%) or 30% DREB (currently 26.6%), which would give Rockets $963K of room below luxury tax. (For perspective, to sign a player at min counts $8,546/day, and season ends 4/10).
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) March 4, 2019
At the moment, the 6-foot-10 center is averaging 16.8 points (on 63.4 percent shooting), 12.5 rebounds, 1.4 assists, 0.6 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 1.5 turnovers in 34.2 minutes per ballgame. While this has been enough to firmly establish himself as Houston's third star, it looks like he will come up short on the above mentioned marks.
While missing out on close to $1 million might prove to be a significant blow for Capela, the silver lining here is that the Rockets can actually use the money to sign a player at the veteran's minimum.
Houston have had a bit of a roller-coaster of a season, but have done well enough to merit the fifth spot in a ruthless Western Conference with a current record of 38-25. However, several of their weaknesses have been exposed throughout the season, and perhaps an addition of an experienced veteran — one that is of course willing to sign for a minimum deal — might be able to help address their shortcomings.
Although there is nothing imminent as of yet, it would be surprising if the Rockets front office do not, at the very least, explore this opportunity that has graced them.
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