The Houston Rockets have offered a two-year contract at the NBA’s minimum salary to 25-year-old big man Bruno Caboclo, and he plans to sign it in short order, he told Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston.
The second year of the offer is a team option. With the Rockets subject to a hard salary cap after the sign-and-trade acquisition of Christian Wood, the minimum bid is the best they can reasonably do.
“It means that they trust me, and I feel good about it,” Caboclo said of the team’s offer. “Since I got here, I’ve felt at home. Everybody treats me well. They always push me. We work hard every day, and I like that.”
Free agent C/F @Bruno_Caboclo says he has an offer from the #Rockets for 1 year plus a team option: “They made an offer.I’ll stay here for this next season.I didn’t sign the papers yet,but hopefully soon. It means they trust me&I feel good about it.” Was w/the Rockets last season pic.twitter.com/4UJt6vVjiy
— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) November 25, 2020
Caboclo, who is 6-foot-9 with a 7-foot-7 wingspan, played only sparingly after being acquired by Houston at the February trade deadline. The athletic big man was also limited by a knee injury upon his arrival.
However, the Rockets did express optimism about Caboclo’s long-term future, and he could have a better opportunity to make an impact if he’s with the team from the outset of training camp. Assuming he is re-signed, Caboclo could be a viable backup option at power forward and center behind veterans such as Wood, P.J. Tucker, and DeMarcus Cousins.
Caboclo said the first year of his new contract would be guaranteed after Tuesday, Dec. 1, which is the opening day of training camp for the 2020-21 season. “I didn’t sign the papers yet, but hopefully soon,” he said.
After being selected No. 20 overall in the 2014 NBA Draft, Caboclo finally got his first extended opportunity in 34 games with Memphis late in the 2018-19 season. In that stretch, Caboclo averaged 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game, and he shot 36.9% on 3-pointers.
Once the Rockets re-sign Caboclo, which seems imminent, that’s the form they hope he recaptures for the upcoming 2020-21 season.
