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[Feigen] Clint Capela (aka "Swiss Bank") returns with new contract but same exuberance

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by Deuce, Oct 7, 2018.

  1. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Clint Capela returns with new contract but same exuberance

    Feigen, Houston Chronicle

    SAN ANTONIO — As Rockets players made their way to a road locker room for the first time this season, checking out the nicknames longtime equipment manager Tony Nila had come up with to identify the cubicle assigned to each, Clint Capela had no difficulty knowing where he was heading.

    No one else in the room could answer to the moniker Nila had chosen for Capela’s fifth NBA season.

    In keeping with Capela’s rise among NBA centers, and the offseason in which he completed a sometimes tense and difficult negotiation for the contract to match, Capela had been labeled “Swiss Bank.”

    For all that it took to get his name on the bottom line of a new five-year, $80 million deal, he could not argue with the nickname placed at the top of his locker.

    He also, Capela said, will not let that change him, a pledge the Rockets said he has kept through the first weeks of training camp with his play and mood as energetic and enthusiastic as when he was a late first-round pick who quickly won them over.

    “The money is not weighing him down, I can tell you that,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s been great. I think he looks about how he looked hallway through the year. He came in a lot better. Last year, he was a little overweight. This year, he came ready to go. That’s great. We got him the next four years, five years, whatever it is. He’s going to be really good.”

    The Rockets could have had concern that the long staring contest that often comes with restricted free agency, even for players so valuable, could leave hard feelings. General manager Daryl Morey said: “That can be a tough part of the business, especially with restricted free agents. You always worry.”


    D’Antoni made a point to call when the deal was completed, in part to give his congratulations, but also to offer perspective.

    “I called him that day,” D’Antoni said. “I told him that day, “You know, you just changed your life forever. You might not have gotten everything. But that’s the rules. It’s a business. But at the end of the day, c’mon.’ ”

    Capela, who is expected to return Sunday in San Antonio after missing one game with a sore right foot, said they need not have worried. Wealth, he said, will change nothing about his game or attitude. He seemed to display that on media day, when he giggled his way through a pantomime of the step-back jumpers he said he would take. He proved it to teammates in the first training camp scrimmages by showing the energy that marked his breakthrough season.

    “I know my role is not going to change, same energy,” Capela, 24, said. “I’m going to be that guy running the floor and doing all that stuff on defense. I really felt I had a big responsibility already last year. I’m just excited to bring more. I don’t feel any pressure, or anything.


    “I’m just enjoying, especially to be on a winning team like that, good vibes every day. It’s something I enjoyed last year and I’m going to enjoy this year, too.”

    Capela last season led the NBA in field-goal percentage, making 65.2 percent of his shots, and was second in blocked shots, averaging 1.85. His 66 percent shooting in the playoffs is the franchise record for a postseason with at least eight attempts per game. He was the first player in NBA history to have averaged at least 13 points, 10 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots in less than 28 minutes per game and the first player in the postseason to average at least 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked in less than 31 minutes.

    He also had perfect timing to become a free agent, but when teams looking to spend on centers quickly made deals, there was no chance at an offer the Rockets would even hesitate to match. That led to a stalemate that lasted nearly all of July.

    “I wasn’t really worried,” Capela said. “I feel the job that I did last year and the team that I was on was good. I knew (in) free agency sometimes you have to be patient. It takes time. That’s part of the business sometimes. It wasn’t that bad.”

    He said he also will not worry about the incentives in his contract, including the 65 free-throw percentage he would have to reach to earn an extra $500,000. Capela’s 56 percent shooting from the line last season was the best of his career and a considerable improvement from his 4-of-23 (17.4 percent) free-throw shooting as a rookie, but well short of 65 percent.

    “I’m not even worried,” Capela said. “I work on it every day. There’s no pressure to do that. That’s a good goal. I like it. Sixty-five percent, it’s a good percentage, which means I’m going to be respected.”

    In other ways, he is. Capela’s production as a rim-running, lob-catching big man has made him the prototype of the modern center. Draft night and summer league were filled with nearly as many Capela comparisons as mentions of “wingspan” or “upside.” Capela has noticed.

    “I still feel like when I see people say what they want to do in the NBA and I hear my name as an example, it makes me feel respected.


    “I’m really grateful for that. My job is now what teams are looking for. My job is now what players need to do and everybody is looking at. I feel like my job, my effort, is recognized around the league now. It makes me happy. It makes me even more focused on what I do. This is right for my team.”

    That, too, has not changed, no matter what it says on the piece of tape affixed above his locker.
     
    heypartner, da_juice, robgue and 9 others like this.
  2. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Sounds like Clint has a great attitude. This team has great chemistry. Let's go!
     
  3. bleedroxred79

    bleedroxred79 Member

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    Makes me wonder if his draft class was redone, how high he would go? Murey with a steal...
     
  4. don grahamleone

    don grahamleone Contributing Member

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    Great article. I wonder if he developed a Swiss Bank Shot?
     
  5. Deuce

    Deuce Context & Nuance

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    Capela's attitude sure is a lot better than Hassan Whiteside and Nerlens Noel.....
     
    AroundTheWorld and D-rock like this.
  6. Invisible Fan

    Invisible Fan Contributing Member

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    Swiss Banks a nice name to stay humble.
     
    Lawlruschang likes this.
  7. da_juice

    da_juice Member

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    Love this guy and hope he retires here. Loves the game and the team, and seema to improve every year
     
  8. RockingRox

    RockingRox Member

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    "Sixty-five percent, it’s a good percentage, which means I’m going to be respected."

    Sure! Just get there.
     
    snowconeman22 likes this.

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