Houston Rockets: When could we see Clint Capela re-sign?

There is one big question mark left in the offseason for the Houston Rockets and it involves their starting center.

The Houston Rockets are coming off of an overall successful season. They finished at 65-17, the best in franchise history, and took one of the best teams ever assembled to seven games.

They also saw growth in some of their players. One, in particular, was center Clint Capela. Clint has improved his game every year in the league and was rewarded this season by finishing second in the Most Improved Player voting.

Capela is a restricted free agent and still hasn’t signed. It is July 26 and the Rockets and Capela have not come to an agreement.

This is shocking to many people, as he is the biggest name by far still available in the free agent market. Nobody has the funds to throw a near-max contract at Capela, though, so he remains unsigned until he can figure out a deal with Houston.

What Morey had to say

I asked Daryl Morey in my interview with him if we should be expecting a deal soon and this is what he had to say:

“We can say [the negotiations] are going back-and-forth. I think restricted free agency is pretty difficult. For sure, Clint is going to be a very wealthy guy no matter what happens at the end of all of this. We’re looking forward to getting him back on the Rockets as soon as we can.”

Previously, Capela has shown signs of potentially taking the qualifying offer, much less than he deserves, and becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer. This quote from Morey makes me optimistic that the two sides will come to terms on a deal for multiple years and quite a bit of money, rather than just the qualifying offer.

The Rockets originally offered five-years, $85 million at the start of free agency, according to the Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen. That number should be around the $95-100 million mark by the end of this process, likely.

When, though?

The big question still remains: When will Clint Capela eventually sign? While no one, obviously, knows for sure, you would have to think it will happen relatively soon.

Marcus Smart was another restricted free agent who was having contract issues with the Celtics. They finally came to terms with him about a week ago.

Daryl Morey’s quote makes me optimistic that this deal will happen soon. They are excited and want him back with the Rockets as soon as possible, just for the right price. It wasn’t the clearest quote in the world, but it certainly didn’t seem negative towards a deal dragging on and on. It seems like Clint will be with Houston in the near-future.

Could the Rockets just be waiting for everyone (Carmelo Anthony and the rookies) to be signed before going into the luxury tax with Capela’s bird rights?

Clint Capela is a huge part of this team, and I know the Rockets will do their best to bring him back as soon as possible.