Rockets GM Rafael Stone on the signing of veteran center Clint Capela: “We like depth, and we like lineup flexibility. We had a ton of success last year playing Alperen (Sengun) at the four.”
At first glance, the Houston Rockets and veteran center Clint Capela didn’t look like a match entering the NBA’s 2025 free agency window.
Capela has been a quality starter for most of his career, and he’s just 31 years old. The Rockets have two entrenched centers in Alperen Sengun and the recently re-signed Steven Adams, and Sengun was an All-Star last season. So, the only role available appeared to be at third string on the depth chart, which normally isn’t a regular member of a team’s playing rotation.
In usual circumstances, that third-string role wouldn’t be sufficient for a starting-level player at that position, and the team might lack the incentive to invest heavily in it.
But the 2025-26 Rockets aren’t operating under usual circumstances, as Houston found success late last season and in the playoffs with “double big” lineups featuring both Sengun and Adams. Assuming it carries over — and indications are that it will — that would provide more opportunities than normal for a third center.
On Tuesday, Rockets general manager Rafael Stone discussed Capela’s arrival in a conversation with Adam Clanton and Adam Wexler of flagship radio station SportsTalk 790.
Regarding the thought process, Stone told “The A-Team”:
We like depth, and we like lineup flexibility. We had a ton of success last year playing Alperen (Sengun) at the four. Jabari (Smith Jr.) can obviously play the four, the five, and the three. We like playing him at all of those spots.
I think he missed Houston, the city, and I think he wanted to be part of a team that he perceived as having a real chance to win.
Capela previously played in Houston from 2014 until early 2020, and he’s long been one of the league’s best rebounders. That could fit well with the Rockets, who led the NBA in that category last season and continue to prioritize strong defense, rebounding, and physicality under head coach Ime Udoka.
To Stone’s point garding depth, Adams played in just 58 regular-season games (at 13.7 minutes per game) last season, and back-to-backs were generally not an option. Like Capela, he’s also 31 years old, and he has more than a decade of NBA mileage on his body.
It is worth noting that some of those 2024-25 restrictions were because it was Adams’ first season back from knee surgery, and he often referred to it as a two-year recovery process. He should be fresher and more available in 2025-26, at least on paper.
Yet, it’s probably unrealistic to expect the Rockets to play him major regular-season minutes, particularly if they want him to be at his best in the playoffs. With that in mind, the presence of Capela should allow the Rockets to “load manage” Adams when needed, along with providing valuable insurance in the event of any injuries.
Even so, most NBA teams won’t roster three starting-caliber centers. But in a situation where a team is open to playing two at once — and one where two of the three are now in their 30s and have more than a decade of NBA mileage on them — it starts to make more sense.
The success of Sengun at power forward only further opens the door. So, too, could his offseason emphasis on 3-point shooting, which might alleviate any floor-spacing concerns.
“The double big (success), that did surprise me,” Stone told SportsTalk 790. “If it didn’t, then it would be shame on me for not doing it at the beginning of the season. But good basketball players can play with good basketball players, and I do think Steven is a very high-IQ player, and Alperen is, too. They played really well together.”
In turn, that could make Capela’s role more dynamic than what the depth chart would initially suggest.