Daryl Morey to Clint Capela: ‘We watched you grow into a lion’

In a tribute post on Instagram, Rockets GM Daryl Morey thanked former center Clint Capela for his five-plus seasons in Houston.

The Houston Rockets made a pair of trades for long forwards before the NBA’s 2019-20 trade deadline, bringing in Robert Covington from Minnesota and Bruno Caboclo from Memphis.

But as part of those deals, the Rockets sent out 25-year-old big man Clint Capela ⁠— who was the second-longest tenured player on the Houston roster, trailing only franchise centerpiece James Harden.

So while there’s excitement for the looming debut of Covington on Thursday night, there are clearly mixed emotions from many around the Rockets about seeing their longtime starting center depart.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey, who selected Capela in the first round of the 2014 NBA Draft and ultimately made the final call this week on the deal sending Capela to Atlanta, took to Instagram on Thursday to thank Capela for his five-plus years of service to the organization.

Morey wrote:

We watched you grow into a lion. Thank you, Clint.

Veteran guard Eric Gordon, who has played alongside Capela since signing in Houston before the 2016-17 season, seemed to express his emotions with one sad emoji shortly after the trade was announced.

To Morey’s point, in Capela’s 2014-15 rookie campaign, the Swiss big man played in just 12 regular-season NBA games. He averaged 2.7 points (48.3% shooting) and 2.2 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game, usually in mop-up duty, and spent most of the year in the G League.

This year, the 6-foot-10 Capela has averaged 13.9 points (62.9% shooting) and 13.8 rebounds in 32.8 minutes per game, with that rebounding total ranking fourth in the entire league.

However, the Rockets seem to believe wing defense and floor spacing for their All-Star backcourt of former MVPs (Harden and Russell Westbrook) are more important to their 2019-20 title chances than Capela’s traditional big man values of size, rebounding, and rim protection.

In comments to the Houston Chronicle‘s Jonathan Feigen, Morey explains why he believes the changes boost their championship odds:

Pretty straight forward. The best way to play with our stars that we feel is the one that gives us the best chance to win the championship is with a stretch four, playing up-tempo, shooting, and wing defenders. Robert Covington was for sure the best one available.

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker slides to Capela’s former role as the starting center. The Rockets are 10-1 in games without Capela this season, including a 4-0 run over the last 10 days with Tucker at center. Meanwhile, Covington will take many of the vacated minutes at power forward.

There were reports this week suggesting that in addition to the Covington and Cabaclo acquisitions, the Rockets aimed to also bring in a more traditional center to help replace Capela’s size.

But that type of deal did not transpire by Thursday’s trade deadline, meaning that Morey will probably have to turn to the upcoming buyout market if the Rockets are to address that need. At 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, Cabaclo could potentially play minutes at center, though he’s likely out until after the All-Star break with a bone bruise in his left knee.

As for Covington and the current roster’s healthy players, the Rockets (32-18) will debut their new-look lineup Thursday in Los Angeles versus the Lakers (38-11), who have the West’s best record. Tip-off is at 9:30 p.m. Central time, with the game broadcast nationally on TNT.

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