The Houston Rockets have been put in a tight situation with the team losing two prominent role players in forwards Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah A Moute in free agency, which has put more pressure on them to bring back big man Clint Capela a new deal.
Things have continued to heat up on that front over the last few days with both sides continuing to hold ongoing contract negotiations to work out a new contract for the restricted free agent. According to Brian Geltzeiler of Hoopscritic.com, Capela has turned down a five-year, $85 million deal from the Rockets.
There had previously been reports that Capela is eyeing to land a four-year, $100 million contract with the Rockets, but the two sides are clearly much further apart on what would be feasible to work out. The 24-year-old has developed into a key piece in the frontcourt for Houston over the last couple of years that as a rim protector and strong option in the paint.
Capela is coming off his best campaign where put up career highs across the board averaging a double-double with 13.9 points and 10.8 rebounds on 65.2 percent shooting from the field and 1.9 blocks in 27.5 minutes per contest. He has proven to be a highly valuable part of the Rockets' core group, but the team clearly doesn't want to overspend to retain him on a new long-term deal.
What hasn't helped Capela's case is that there has been little interest elsewhere as there are not many teams that have enough salary cap space to even present him with a significant offer sheet. This has put him essentially at the will to hammer out a new contract with the Rockets, who can put on the table the most money. It may just simply be a matter of time before the two sides can come to an agreement on a deal.