Clint Capela Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Howard, Parsons, Hill, Matthews

November 6th, 2016 at 12:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwight Howard may be gone, but the Rockets are still benefiting from the teaching he did with younger players, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Howard signed with the Hawks this summer after three seasons in Houston, but he left an impression on Rockets big men Clint Capela, Montrezl Harrell and Sam Dekker. “Dwight was a great guy; nobody gets to really see the type of person he is off the court,” Harrell said. “Everybody sees him on the court and thinks he’s childish or he’s a big kid. He’s a great guy with the time I spent with Dwight. He cares about everybody on and off the court. He has a heart that’s so big. Whenever I came out of a game, we were always communicating.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Chandler Parsons will make his Grizzlies debut this afternoon instead of Tuesday as originally expected, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. Parsons, who signed a four-year, $94MM deal with Memphis, hasn’t played since he had surgery on his right knee in March. “Felt great in workout. I’m ready to rock,” Parsons wrote in a text message. “No reason to wait.”
Solomon Hill signed with the Pelicans over the offseason, but coach Alvin Gentry had his eye on the fourth-year small forward for a long time, relays Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Hill played college ball at Arizona while Gentry was the head coach in Phoenix, and Gentry wanted to trade for him last season. “I just think he’s a good, solid guy,” Gentry said. “He’s a guy who is trying to find himself in what we’re doing. I told him I think he’s trying to fit in too much. He’s a guy who just needs to be who he is. That’s why we signed him.”
Wesley Matthews, who joined the Mavericks in 2015, appears to be one of the building blocks for the team’s future, writes Adam Grosbard of The Dallas Morning News. Matthews is adopting an increased leadership role as Dallas tries to rebound from its slow start. “He’s become one of the faces of our team,” said coach Rick Carlisle. “Just his intensity, his presence out there as our best perimeter defender and just his attitude and stuff like that is a big part of who we are. He’s knowledgeable and relentless and he has great pride [on defense].”

Rockets Exercise Clint Capela’s 2017/18 Option

October 26th, 2016 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 26: The Rockets have officially picked up Capela’s 2017/18 option, according to RealGM.com.

OCTOBER 24: The Rockets will exercise their 2017/18 team option on Clint Capela‘s rookie contract, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). Capela’s fourth-year option is one of three rookie-scale decisions the team has to make before October 31 — Tyler Ennis and Sam Dekker also have ’17/18 options to be picked up or turned down.

Capela, 22, enjoyed a modest breakout season in 2015/16 after playing sparingly in his rookie year. Capela averaged 7.0 PPG, 6.4 RPG, and 1.2 BPG in 19.1 minutes per contest last season, starting 35 of the 77 games he played for Houston.

If Rockets management had their way, Capela would have had an opportunity to play even more in 2015/16. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, interim head coach J.B. Bickerstaff resisted complying with the wishes of GM Daryl Morey and owner Leslie Alexander, who wanted to see Capela receive more minutes at the expense of Dwight Howard.

With Howard and Bickerstaff no longer in Houston, new head coach Mike D’Antoni is presumably on board with the plan to give Capela an expanded role going forward. The young big man, who will earn a guaranteed $2,334,528 salary in 2017/18, will be extension-eligible during the 2017 offseason and eligible for restricted free agency during the 2018 offseason.

In other Rockets news, rookie guard Gary Payton II, who was waived by Houston earlier today, confirmed to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link) that the team has expressed interest in having him join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. Payton said there are a couple other teams interested in his services, so he’ll talk to his agent to determine his next move — he’s open to the idea of joining the Rockets’ D-League squad, per Berman.

Southwest Notes: Barnes, Spurs, Grizzlies, Rockets

September 29th, 2016 at 1:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks don’t expect small forward Harrison Barnes to emerge as a superstar to replace Dirk Nowitzki but he’ll have a much bigger role with them than he did with the Warriors, Tim MacMahon of the Dallas Morning News reports. Barnes received a max four-year, $94MM contract this summer and will be featured much more offensively in Dallas, particularly with the free agent departure of Chandler Parsons. Coach Rick Carlisle told MacMahon that he met with Barnes about the outside expectations that come with signing a huge contract. “I talked to him this summer a lot about that,” Carlisle said. “The bottom line is it’s a challenge that he’s got to love taking on. The important thing is an elevation in responsibility comes at the right rate. You don’t just get a guy like this and throw him out there and tell him he’s got to score 20 a night. … We’ll get it to him in what I feel will be the correct doses and we’ll go from there.”

In other news around the Southwest Division:

The Spurs have waived big man Ryan Richards, according to the team’s website. They signed the 2010 second-round draft choice to a training camp contract earlier this month. He played with teams in Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain last season.
The Rockets have high expectations for center Clint Capela as Dwight Howard‘s replacement, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com writes. The team signed Nene Hilario to back up and mentor Capela, who is expected to move into the starting lineup, Watkins continues. GM Daryl Morey told Watkins that Capela must become an impact player. “Clint is someone for us, to have the season we want to have — to get home court in the Western Conference and to make a deep playoff run and hopefully to go deeper than we’ve ever been in my career — Clint is going to have to take a big step forward,” Morey said. “It’s not an easy step, from playing 15 to 20 minutes against … often, but not always, the starting center to playing 25-plus minutes against front-line guys.”
New Grizzlies coach David Fizdale has big plans for small forward James Ennis, Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. Ennis was re-signed by the club this offseason on a two-year, $6MM contract and Fizdale sees him as a valuable rotation piece, Tillery continues. “He’s what today’s NBA is. He’s a Swiss Army knife,” Fizdale told Tillery. “He can guard a lot of different people. I’ve got him in a good place and he’s taking advantage of that.”

Rockets Notes: Ennis, Motiejunas, Dekker, Capela

September 24th, 2016 at 7:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

Thursday’s trade for point guard Tyler Ennis is a sign of the new approach that coach Mike D’Antoni wants to bring to the Rockets, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Ennis was acquired from the Bucks in exchange for veteran forward Michael Beasley. While Beasley is a volume shooter and productive scorer, Ennis thrives in running an offense, particularly the pick-and-roll. Feigen sees the deal as a sign that Houston is moving away from the one-on-one philosophy that has marked the team through much of the James Harden era.

There’s more news out of Houston:

D’Antoni sounded confident that power forward Donatas Motiejunas will be re-signed, Feigen tweets. The restricted free agent has been in a contract impasse with the Rockets all summer, with no movement other than the team submitting a qualifying offer. That offer will expire October 1st if Motiejunas doesn’t accept it. Last week, B.J. Armstrong, the agent for Motiejunas, charged that the Rockets have yet to make a serious offer. Feigen adds that GM Daryl Morey refused to say much about the Motiejunas negotiations at Friday’s media day.
After missing almost his entire rookie year with back problems, Sam Dekker is ready to make up for lost time, Feigen writes in a separate piece. The 22-year-old combo forward said he felt “really good” today after the first practice of the new season and he hopes his physical problems are in the past. The 18th pick in the 2015 draft, Dekker managed just three games and six minutes for the Rockets last season. “I’m a guy that can come in and add energy, add a spark,” Dekker said. “There is a lot I can bring to the table. I’ve been able to show that this summer. I’m looking to keep improving that. I feel much better than I did last year in terms of mentally. The game has slowed down and I know the nuances of the NBA style of basketball. I’m looking to make a splash.”
The Rockets are counting on Clint Capela to improve his game to compensate for the loss of Dwight Howard, relays the Associated Press. The Rockets also signed Nene to provide frontcourt help, but they are counting on Capela to handle most of the work. “Clint is going to have to take a big step forward and it’s not an easy step,” Morey said. “To go from playing 15-20 minutes against often not the starting center to playing 25-plus minutes against front-line guys, that’s a big step forward. It’s more physical. It takes a big toll on your body to do that night-in and night-out.”

Reaction To Josh Smith Trade

January 22nd, 2016 at 2:33pm CST by Chuck Myron

Josh Smith is the NBA’s version of an acquired taste, observes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com in a piece that explains why the 12th-year veteran didn’t mesh with the Clippers, even under a reputed player’s coach like Doc Rivers, nearly as well as he did in his first stint with the Rockets. Smith was frank in his interaction with James Harden, pushing the shooting guard to become a better player and locker room leader, and Harden accepted that guidance, Watkins writes. Smith also mentored Terrence Jones and Clint Capela, and Corey Brewer and Jason Terry were enamored with him, according to Watkins. That sort of chemistry simply didn’t exist in L.A., as we examine amid more reaction to today’s trade that sent Smith from the Clippers to the Rockets.

Smith, who today cited a desire to play a leadership role on the Rockets, also wanted to do the same with the Clippers when he signed with them, but the Clippers already had their leadership structure in place, making him a poor fit in the L.A. locker room, writes Dan Woike of the Orange County Register.
Smith’s shot selection was one reason he fell out of favor with Rivers, writes Barry Stavro of the Los Angeles Times, and his defense was another, according to fellow Times scribe Ben Bolch.
Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff gushed about what Smith can bring to the Rockets, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston relays (on Twitter). “It’s huge,” Bickerstaff said. “It gives us a leg up. We don’t have to start all the way over with him. We don’t have to teach him everything that we do. He knows what we do. He’s familiar with how his teammates like the ball. He’s familiar with how to play pick-and-roll with Dwight [Howard]. He knows how to play pick-and-roll with James. So that gives us a huge advantage.”
Bickerstaff isn’t the only Rocket who’s glad to have Smith back, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle details. “It’s great news,” Terry said. “It’s more than his skill, which is what he brought to the table last year, but it’s the intangible of his personality. It’s infectious. The chemistry he and Dwight had together was something you can’t make up. It’s natural. He was a huge part of our success last year.”

Western Notes: Russell, Aldridge, Capela

November 11th, 2015 at 9:40pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Rookie D’Angelo Russell is obviously in the Lakers‘ long-term plans, but that doesn’t mean he is ready to take on a huge role just yet, Baxter Holmes of ESPN.com writes.

“I’m not just going to put him out there to put him out there,” Coach Byron Scott said. “If I do that and he’s not prepared and he’s not learning, then I’m preparing him to fail. And I’m not going to do that. I think this kid is too valuable to us.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

LaMarcus Aldridge isn’t going to get caught up in his decision to leave Portland when the Blazers host the Spurs tonight, Jason Quick of CSNNW passes along via Twitter. “I’m not going to get into all of that. What is done is done. I feel like both sides kind of have what they want. Now, I’m here,” Aldridge said.
Clint Capela is proving he belongs in the NBA and Rockets GM Daryl Morey has high expectations for the big man, as he tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. “Sky’s the limit for him.” Morey said. “To do what he’s doing at 22 is amazing in the NBA against the talent in the league and to come from playing mostly in the D-League last season, to start a few games for us, and in games that we’ve won, is huge. His ability to protect the rim, run the floor, rebound — we really feel like he’s got a chance to be a high-level player.”
Capela has seen some added playing time this season with Dwight Howard not playing in both games of back-to-backs and there is no urgency to change the game plan, Morey tells Watkins in the same piece. “It’s going to come down to the doctor’s advice,” Morey said. “He has not played back-to-back and he’s played at an extremely high level. So I think the doctors are looking at that and feeling like that’s the smartest course at this point. If he gets to no symptoms whatsoever and playing at a high level, I think they might mix him in at some point. For now and the foreseeable future, I think they want him to sit out back-to-backs.” Howard can hit free agency this summer if he elects to turn down his player option, which is worth slightly more than $23.28MM.

Rockets To Pick Up 2016/17 Option On Clint Capela

November 1st, 2015 at 6:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

SUNDAY, 6:45pm: The Rockets have picked up the option, Feigen reports. The team has yet to make an announcement.

SEPTEMBER 28TH: The Rockets will exercise their team option to keep center Clint Capela on his rookie scale contract for the 2016/17 season, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The formal decision on the option, worth $1,296,240, is due November 2nd, nearly a year before the option season begins.

It’s no shock to see Houston poised to make the move, since most rookie scale team options are picked up, even though Capela saw action in only 12 games and scored a total of 32 points in the regular season this past year, his first in the NBA after the Rockets made him the 25th overall pick in 2014. Capela took a step forward in the postseason, when he saw minutes in place of the injured Donatas Motiejunas. The rookie appeared in more playoff games (17) than regular season contests and averaged 3.4 points in 7.5 minutes per postseason game.

The option will put a slight squeeze on Houston’s cap flexibility for next summer, though the team will only have about $45.6MM in commitments once the option formally goes on the books. That doesn’t count a player option worth more than $23MM for Dwight Howard, Ty Lawson‘s non-guaranteed salary in excess of $13.2MM, or any money for Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, whose contracts will expire at season’s end if they don’t reach extensions with Houston by that same November 2nd date. The salary cap is projected to hit $89MM next summer.

Do you think Capela will become a productive player for the Rockets? Leave a comment to let us know.

Southwest Notes: Clippers, Jenkins, Aldridge

October 9th, 2015 at 7:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Employing daily meditation and a vegan diet, one that he’s trying to convince Anthony Davis to adopt, Chris Douglas-Roberts is taking a more sanguine approach to his career than he used to as he fights for a regular season roster spot on the Pelicans, as John Reid of The Times Picayune details. The Pelicans have six players, including Douglas-Roberts, who don’t have fully guaranteed salary and 13 who do. ”I was a first-team All-American [in college] — top five player in the country — and got drafted second round,” Douglas-Roberts said. ”So I carried a little bit bitterness and anger from that. I still performed when I was given an opportunity. But my energy just wasn’t right. Now my energy is right.”

Here’s more happenings from the Southwest Division:

John Jenkins has impressed Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle with his aggressive play, though Jenkins, a shooting guard by trade, has had his struggles while filling in at point guard due to a number of injuries, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “The learning curve is always going to be there with young players. You know, we’ve got some young guys that are getting a real chance to play and are learning things. That said, I really like Jenkins. You know, Jenkins has played a real aggressive game both of the last two nights. He’s shown he can handle the ball a little bit. He’s done a good job, and he’s got to continue doing what he’s been doing,” Carlisle told Sneed.
The Rockets have been encouraged thus far by the preseason showings of second-year players K.J. McDaniels and Clint Capela, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle notes. Capela was selected with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and McDaniels re-signed with the team over the summer after having been acquired from the Sixers at last February’s deadline in exchange for Isaiah Canaan and a second-round pick.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who left the Trail Blazers over the summer to sign a four-year, $84MM deal with the Spurs, is still acclimating himself to San Antonio’s system, but he is pleased with his progress thus far, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. After making his preseason debut against his former team, Aldridge said, “The night was [a] little overwhelming because it doesn’t really hit you until you really go put on the jersey and then you go play. I knew I was in San Antonio, but it doesn’t really hit you until you’re on the court trying to figure out how to run an offense again and things like that. But I think the process has been going well so far.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Western Notes: Donovan, Capela, Nuggets

October 6th, 2015 at 10:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder coach Billy Donovan isn’t focusing on the impending free agency of star small forward Kevin Durant, who is eligible to hit the open market next summer, because he doesn’t want it to take away from his other duties as a coach, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman tweets. “I’ve said this before that I feel that my job and responsibility each day on the court is to our staff and myself to try and help Kevin grow and get better as a player, to try to help the team grow and get better as a team, and put our focus on those things,” Donovan said. “I think for me to focus on something that’s going to be all the way down the road in June or July or during that timeframe, I think I’m taking away my focus on what we need to do. We have enough to do I think right now as a staff to try to improve and get better.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Rockets intend to utilize second year big man Clint Capela in a larger role in an effort to reduce starting center Dwight Howard‘s minutes this season, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “For me, it’s hard to focus on that right now because I’m really focused on the training camp, getting better every day,” Capela said. “But I think it is good for me. It is a good change. Right now, I have to focus on the right now. I’m going to get there, but I’m not there yet. I will be ready.“
The battle for the Nuggets‘ final roster spot is likely to be between second-year players Erick Green and Nick Johnson, both of whom are competing to be the team’s third point guard, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Both players are signed to the league minimum, but Johnson’s deal is fully guaranteed, while Green’s includes a partial guarantee of $100K, though that won’t likely be the determining factor, Dempsey adds.
The Thunder‘s new offense is opening up scoring opportunities for all the players, and not just the outside shooters, Horne writes in a separate piece. “Definitely. Definitely more space,” point guard Russell Westbrook said. “Guys are in positions where they can score the basketball. The space is especially good for myself and it’s also good for guys that shoot the basketball really well, roll to the basket, whatever it is, can use their strengths really well.”

Western Notes: Hill, Kanter, Warriors

April 22nd, 2015 at 9:31pm CST by Eddie Scarito

During his exit interview with Jordan Hill, Lakers coach Byron Scott told the big man that he wasn’t happy with the consistency of his efforts this season, Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News relays. “He was disappointed he didn’t see that energy,” Hill said. “That’s something else I need to work on.” It’s unclear if the franchise will exercise its $9MM team option on Hill, Medina adds. The team is focusing on the draft and free agency before making decisions on its current roster, something that Hill understands, Medina notes. “It’s going to be a big offseason for the Lakers,” Hill said. “It’s up in the air right now. They don’t know what’s going to happen. I have to stay positive and hope everything will fall into place.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Enes Kanter has undergone arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, knocking him out of action for four-to-six weeks, Anthony Slater of The Oklahoman relays. The big man can become a restricted free agent this summer if the Thunder tender him a qualifying offer worth $7,471,412.
The Warriors as a team are influenced by both former coach Mark Jackson and current coach Steve Kerr emotionally, but it is the emergence as Stephen Curry as a leader that has put the team over the top this season, Tim Kawakami of The Bay Area News Group writes.
Clint Capela has unexpectedly stepped into the Rockets‘ playoff rotation and has risen to the challenge after being used sparingly all season, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “He’s a good kid,” coach Kevin McHale said. “He plays hard all the time. Nothing bothers him. Whether he had a really good last play or a really bad last play, he plays hard on the next play. That’s key. You do that, and you don’t drag all your baggage with you down the floor because you missed a shot or if you don’t defend.“