After playing nearly six seasons with the Rockets to start his NBA career, veteran center Clint Capela is now returning to the team in a backup role. His three-year deal is worth $21.5 million.

Clint Capela is signing with the Rockets on a three-year, $21.5-million contract, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported Monday. Financially, Houston will acquire the veteran center via a sign-and-trade with Atlanta involving a second-round pick swap in 2031 and cash considerations, per Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report and The Stein Line.

External free agency negotiations opened up at 5:00 p.m. Central, and the Rockets and Capela reached an agreement within the first two hours.

Capela was drafted by the Rockets in the 2014 first round and played for Houston from 2014-15 until the 2020 trade deadline. Capela was traded to Atlanta as part of a multi-team trade bringing Robert Covington to Houston, and the Swiss big man had played with the Hawks ever since.

Over 11 NBA seasons, Capela has averaged 12.0 points (61.7% FG), 10.5 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks in 26.2 minutes per game.

Now 31 years old, Capela played less in the 2024-25 season (8.9 points, 8.5 rebounds in 21.4 minutes) than he had in any of his previous eight seasons. So, now in his second decade in the league, he appears to be transitioning into more of a backup role — and that will certainly be the case in Houston, where Capela slides in behind All-Star center Alperen Sengun and veteran backup Steven Adams on the depth chart.

That said, with Sengun and Adams playing together late last season in “double big” lineups, it’s possible that could open up some minutes for a third center. Additionally, with Adams also 31 years old, it’s possible that he and Capela could be load managed during the 82-game regular season in something of a time-share arrangement.

Capela is actually cheaper than last season’s third-string center, Jock Landale, who was playing on a four-year, $32-million contract (with each season not guaranteed until the preceding summer). With Landale’s guarantee date looming, the arrival of Capela would seem to signal that the Australian is on his way out.

Capela joins veteran forward Dorian Finney-Smith, most recently of the Los Angeles Lakers, as Houston’s initial roster additions from the opening hours of 2025 free agency.

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