Annual salary of 7 million, only 4 points in 8 minutes! Is the Rockets’ new center being left out? Why not trade for a new point guard?

In the previous game against the Thunder, Rockets super center Shen Jing scored 39 points in 49 minutes, plus 11 rebounds, 7 assists, 2 steals and 1 block. His performance was very good. Even if his name was blocked, everyone would think it was Jokic's data, but in fact this is Shen Jing, known as "Little Jokic".

23-year-old Shen Jing signed a very valuable contract with the Rockets last summer, which is simply a bargain. Looking at it now, Shen Jing has become a top-5 super center in the league. Last season, Shen Jing was still an ordinary quasi-first-class center, but he is still not All-Star level. Therefore, the Rockets renewed Shen Jing's contract in advance for only 5 years and 185 million, which can be said to be too cheap. Now looking at the contract the Rockets gave Shen Jing, we know how good the Rockets' vision is.

Shen Jing’s annual salary for the new season is only about 34 million. There are many centers whose abilities and statistics are not as good as Shen Jing's, but they all seem to have contracts worth more than 40 million, or even 50 to 60 million. However, the Rockets' Shen Jing is indeed a value-for-money contract, but the Rockets have a contract that is a bit premium in comparison, which may be their center Capela.

The 31-year-old veteran Capela is no longer as brave as he was in the past. Back then, the young Capela teamed up with Harden, Paul and other players and performed very well. At that time, Rockets D'Antoni's tactical system was very suitable for Capela. He specially arranged a set of offensive tactics for Capela, that is, Capela would get a position under the basket. Once he got there, Harden and Paul, two master passers, could immediately pass the ball to Capela. Capela could score easily under the basket. In this case, Capella was also called the "Cake King" at that time.

This shows how strong the Rockets' point guards were back then. Although the Rockets' forwards and interior lines are quite strong now, they do lack a star-level passer at the point guard position. Without VanVleet, relying only on Sheppard, Amen Thompson, and Holiday will really make Capela very uncomfortable, because these point guards are not the kind of passing masters, and it is even very difficult for them to even hand the ball to Durant, let alone give the ball to Capela, let him go directly to the layup.

On the one hand, Capela cannot get support, and on the other hand, he is indeed somewhat incompatible with the Rockets' tactical system during the game. Adams is taller and stronger, and is a top rim protector at the basket; now Capela is older, his jumping ability has declined, his speed has slowed down, and his mobility is not as good as before. Moreover, he does not have the ability to shoot. He can only catch the ball and eat cakes. He has no independent offensive ability or three-point shooting ability. This is his biggest problem.

In the previous game against the Thunder, Capela only played 8 minutes as a substitute center. He made 1 of 1 shots from the field and 2 of 2 free throws. He only scored 4 points, 1 steal, and 1 turnover. Among all the Rockets players, Capela was the most neglected, because except for him, the other players played more than 20 minutes. Even in double overtime, the Rockets did not think of Capela at all.

Capela signed a three-year 21.5 million contract with the Rockets during the offseason, with an average annual salary of more than 7 million. However, judging from this game, Capela, who has a salary of 7 million, only played 8 minutes and scored 4 points. This price-performance ratio is definitely very low. If the Rockets could use this contract to sign a point guard, they wouldn't be facing the current embarrassment.

It can only be said that when the Rockets can trade Capela in mid-December, they can send Capela away in exchange for a new point guard to strengthen the back line. This may be a pretty good choice for the Rockets. After all, in addition to Capela, Adams, Shen Jing and Smith Jr. can all serve as centers. If there is a new point guard, Amen Thompson can also return to the 4th position and let Smith Jr. move to the center position. In this case, the Rockets' interior and frontcourt will not necessarily become weaker.