Sports
NBA Rumors: Hawks Have 'Increasing Willingness' to Trade Clint Capela amid Mavs Buzz – Bleacher Report
The Atlanta Hawks reportedly have an “increased willingness” to trade big man Clint Capela, and the Dallas Mavericks may be a landing spot.
NBA insider Marc Stein suggested Capela could end up in Dallas as part of a three-team deal that would unfold around Pascal Siakam. In such a scenario, the Mavericks could be a third team in a trade that sent Siakam to the Hawks by taking Capela since “the Raptors would appear to have little need for a pricey center after re-signing Jakob Poeltl this month to a four-year deal.”
This isn’t the first time Dallas has been connected to Capela.
Stein noted it attempted to acquire him around the NBA draft but ultimately ended up “balking when Atlanta asked for Josh Green in addition to the No. 10 pick in the draft.”
That the Mavericks would be interested in a low-post presence isn’t much of a surprise.
Their star power is on the outside with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving, and many of their prominent role players are guards and wings in Tim Hardaway Jr., Green and Jaden Hardy. Even some of their bigs are players who extend their game to the perimeter in Grant Williams and Maxi Kleber.
Rookie Dereck Lively II will be a question mark until he proves himself, meaning Capela would be the best known commodity on the interior. He could also be something of a veteran leader for Lively as the rookie adjusts to the NBA level.
Whether it is in Dallas or elsewhere, Capela is someone who could help swing a playoff game.
He is a double-double threat every time he steps on the court and averaged 12.0 points, 11.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game while shooting 65.3 percent from the field last season. It was the sixth straight campaign he averaged double-figure scoring and rebounding totals.
Capela also led the league with 14.3 boards per game in 2020-21.
There aren’t many remaining major moves to be made at this point of the NBA offseason, but adding Capela would be a secondary move that could pay dividends in a significant way for a contender such as the Mavericks.
