Clint Capela

Capela held off Onyeka Okongwu for the starting center job in Atlanta last season and averaged a respectable 12 points, 11 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 65 percent from the floor and 60 percent from the free throw line in his 65 games. The 29-year-old might not be able to hold off Okongwu this season, but regardless of who wins the starting job, a timeshare is likely coming. Capela remained effective in his nearly 27 minutes per game last season and returned fourth-round fantasy value, despite the drop in minutes and the poor free throw shooting. But as Okongwu continues to develop and challenge Capela's starting role, it wouldn't be all that surprising to see Okongwu take over as the starter at some point in the upcoming campaign. Capela still has some fantasy gas left in the tank and should make for a safe mid-round pick. But if Okongwu has a breakout season, Capela could become an afterthought by the end of the year. We like him more as a second fantasy center, as opposed to being the main man in the middle for most squads.

Capela was one of the better traditional starting bigs in the NBA last season. However, his workload was slightly reduced as the Hawks tried Onyeka Okongwu out more at the position, while Danilo Gallinari and John Collins also got some small-ball minutes at the position. Even so, Capela averaged a double-double for the fifth straight season and shot over 60 percent (61.3%) for the fourth time during that stretch. Over 27.6 minutes, he averaged 11.1 points, 11.9 rebounds, 1.3 blocks and 1.2 assists. While it was a good season overall, a few things contributed to Capela losing fantasy value besides a reduced workload. First, his usage dropped a sharp 4.1 percent to a relatively low 13.2%. His blocks simultaneously fell from 2.0 to 1.3, and he shot 10 percent worse from the charity stripe (47.3%). That combination ranked him 97th in per-game fantasy production compared to his 2020-21 rank of 45. Capela's ranking in 2021-22 was his lowest since his second year in the NBA (2015-16). Not much is expected to change for Capela this season, though having another skilled passer in the backcourt with Dejounte Murray next to Trae Young should generate more easy buckets around the rim. That said, Atlanta seems interested in examining what it has in Okongwu - drafted No. 6 overall in 2020 - and Collins will presumably catch occasional minutes at center again. As a result, fantasy managers shouldn't necessarily expect a bounceback season for Capela. He may have a better year if he can improve his free-throw percentage, though, so drafting him sooner than his rank of 97 last season is justifiable.

The transition from Houston to Atlanta didn't faze Capela at all, as he carried on as one of the league's best traditional bigs. In 30.1 minutes per game, he averaged 15.2 points, a league-high 14.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks while shooting 59.4 percent from the field. Capela and point guard Trae Young immediately developed chemistry, leading to easy points at the rim for Capela, including plenty of alley-oop dunks. His overall numbers led to a 45th-overall fantasy ranking on a per-game basis -- his fourth straight season inside the top 50. Nothing should change heading into the 2021-22 season. Atlanta has a nearly identical roster, and Capela will remain in the role he's always occupied. As a result, fantasy managers can feel extremely confident when drafting Capela. He has one of the highest floors of any center, and he can be comfortably selected around the fourth round.

Capela will start the 2020-21 season on the first new team of his career, the Hawks, after spending his first six seasons with the Rockets. Capela was traded to Atlanta last season near the trade deadline but never saw the court due to a heel injury. He had a strong season overall, averaging 13.9 points on 62.9 percent shooting, 13.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks, 1.2 assists and 0.8 steals in 32.8 minutes. He functioned largely as a lob threat and offensive rebounder for the Rockets -- a role he should still occupy with the Hawks. It wouldn't be surprising if Capela puts up comparable numbers given that his new point guard, Trae Young, is one of the best passers in the league and should be able to find a similar amount of open baskets for the big man. On a per-game basis in eight-category leagues, Capela has ranked in the top-50 over the past three seasons, topping out at No. 30 in 2018-19. Considering his role is expected to be similar in Atlanta, fantasy managers should feel comfortable drafting Capela based on his recent performance.

After signing a huge five-year, $90 million extension last offseason, Capela was highly productive in his first season as Houston's starter at center. He lived up to expectations by posting career highs in points (16.6), rebounds (12.7) and assists (1.4), adding 1.5 blocks in 33.6 minutes per game. He was one of the top shooters in the league from the floor, sporting a 64.8 field goal percentage, and Capela has shot at least 64.0 percent from the floor for three straight seasons. He also finished third in the league with 4.4 offensive rebounds per game, and his ability to crash the boards gives him a high fantasy floor. Capela took a lot of flak the last time he was on the floor, averaging 8.8 points and 10.0 rebounds on 53.5 percent shooting from the floor in the Rockets' loss the Warriors in the Western Conference Semifinals. He will look to redeem himself this season as he continues to elevate his play. Russell Westbrook is a skilled rebounder and scorer and may cut into Capela's production in those two categories, but there is virtually no competition for playing time at center, with Isaiah Hartenstein and the aging Tyson Chandler backing him up. Expect big minutes from Capela this season, with a strong likelihood of a double-double average for the third straight season, a high field-goal percentage, and a healthy amount of blocks.

After being in a positional timeshare for a few years in a row, Capela finally became the Rockets' full-time center in 2017-18, averaging 27.5 minutes per game. That uptick in workload allowed the 6-foot-10 big man to post career highs of 13.9 points, 10.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks. He also finished with an outstanding 65.2 percent clip from the field, which along with his blocks per game (4th overall), landed him among the league leaders. Playing alongside elite ball-handlers and creators like James Harden and Chris Paul allowed Capela to thrive in the pick-and-rolls and gave him open look after open look. With those three really thriving and nearly taking down the defending champion Golden State Warriors, the Rockets opted to re-sign Capela this offseason as a restricted free agent, giving him a five-year, $90 million extension. That locks him in as the center of the future and guarantees he'll be seeing big minutes for the foreseeable future. Other than the addition of Carmelo Anthony, who's expected to come off the bench, there were no other additions that should impact the speed and flow of the offense, so Capela is going to continue to get plenty of easy buckets alongside Harden and Paul. While he doesn't have any semblance of a three-point shot and it's worth it to note that he shot just 56 percent from the free-throw line last season, Capela's combination of points, rebounds and blocks should bring him into consideration as a top-10 center and a top-50 selection overall in the majority of formats.

Capela didn't take as big of a step forward as most expected in his third season with the Rockets, which was only further dampened by a 15-game absence in the midde of the year because of a fractured left fibula. Still, when he was available, Capela took over as the full-time starter and posted career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (8.1), assists (1.0) and blocks (1.2). He still didn't get a ton of run overall at just 23.9 minutes per game, as the Rockets often gave extended run to veteran Nene Hilario and Montrezl Harrell at times depending on the matchup. While Harrell is gone, Hilario is back once again and could continue to eat up some of Capela's minutes off the bench. That being said, Capela is locked in as the team's starting center and should benefit once again from the playmaking ability of James Harden. The Rockets also traded for another elite passer in Chris Paul this offseason, which should add even more open looks for Capela, especially as a key pick-and-roll option. Now that he's a full offseason away from his fractured fibula and Harrell is no longer on the team, Capela could be in line for a larger workload. With more open looks and the potential for added playing time, Capela could once again see his numbers slowly rise across the board.

After appearing in only 12 games as a rookie, the Capela had a minor breakout in Year 2, emerging as one of the more intriguing young big men in the Western Conference. In 19.1 minutes per game, the Swiss big man averaged 7.0 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks while shooting 58.2 percent from the field. Capela worked as a starter for half of the season before then-coach J.B. Bickerstaff scrapped the idea of playing Capela and Dwight Howard together. With Howard now in Atlanta, the center position is Capela’s for the taking. That should entail a fairly significant minutes increase, especially considering the options behind him -- aging veteran Nene Hilario and rookie Chinanu Onuaku. Capela will be asked to do the dirty work for what will be a fast-paced Houston offense, but he’ll also work as James Harden’s pick-and-roll partner. Last season, nearly 80 percent of Capela’s field-goal attempts came from within three feet, a trend that’s likely to continue as the Rockets try to develop him into their version of an in-his-prime Tyson Chandler.

Even though he spent the vast majority of his season playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers in the D-League last season, Capela did see some NBA action late in the season. In his rookie season, he averaged 2.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 0.2 assits, 0.1 steals, and 0.8 blocks in eight minutes per game through 12 contests. The Swiss big man shot 48 percent from the field in his brief time with the Rockets and was thrown into action because of all the injuries the Rockets' big men faced this year. While he was a star over in Europe, Capela is still working on translating his game to the NBA, and a knee injury keeping him out of summer league this offseason doesn't help his development. Capela is a very raw offensive player with the abilty to use his size and strength to grab a lot of rebounds and block shots. With only Donatas Motiejunas and Dwight Howard ahead of him on the depth chart, it is possible that, as long as he remains healthy, he gets some minutes this season considering that both Howard and Motiejunas are coming off of their own respective injuries from last year.

At 6-11, 211 pounds, Capela, the Rockets' first-round pick of the 2014 NBA Draft, is an extremely athletic big man who can run the floor and who also has a chance of becoming a defensive force with elite shot blocking potential. Capela is a native of Switzerland and has been playing in France for the past three years with Elan Chalon of the LNB Pro A League. After the 2014 season in France, Capela was named the French League Rising Star, along with being recognized as the French League Most Improved Player. Capela has a long road ahead of him if he's trying to get playing time with the Rockets in the next few seasons. He'll probably come in entrenched near the bottom of the power forward depth chart as a developmental project. With the Rockets expected to make another playoff run this season, it's tough to see Capela getting many minutes as a rookie, and he'll have to show an extremely improved game to get a larger share of playing time. It's always questionable how well international players will adapt to the NBA game.