Capela Trade: Potential Exit from Houston Rockets

“CC”’s playing time dropped to less than twelve minutes per game, far from his career average (25.8 minutes).Keystone

The Geneva pivot is experiencing a complicated reunion in Houston (NBA). A departure can no longer be ruled out.

14.12.2025, 11:5814.12.2025, 11:58

The Genevan is going through one of the most delicate periods of his long NBA career, to the point that the Texan media are already questioning the relevance of his remaining in the squad. What if he leaves? This will be possible from Monday. As recalled by New Zurich newspaperthe Swiss pivot may be included in an exchange, in accordance with the NBA collective agreement.

Capela’s situation illustrates the brutality of North American professional sport. At 31, the man who remains the highest paid Swiss basketball player in history no longer plays a secondary role with the Rockets. Behind the promising Alperen Şengün and the veteran Steven Adams, coveted last summer by the Lakers and the Warriors, he is only the third choice in his position and his playing time has dropped to less than twelve minutes per game, far from his career average (25.8 minutes).

A dream fragile

Even his income has been revised downwards: while he still received nearly 23 million dollars in Atlanta, “CC” now receives 6.7 million this season.

The personal situation of the native of Meyrin contrasts with the ambitions of the Rockets, who are among the best teams in the Western Conference. If he stays at the Toyota Center until the end of the season, Clint Capela could even dream of a title. He would then become the first Swiss to be crowned in the NBA.

Remember that at the start of the year, Houston already appeared as a serious outsider in the title race, after its second place in the West last year, however tarnished by an early elimination in the first round of the play-offs, against Golden State. ESPN’s predictions even placed Kevin Durant’s team fifth among the teams most likely to win the title, with an estimated probability of 6.5%.