Latest Report Has Los Angeles Lakers Potentially Eyeing Former Hawks Center In Free Agency

The NBA Finals continue tonight, but for 28 other teams, the offseason has been underway. The 2025 NBA Draft is two weeks away and trade season and free agency will follow.

One of the worst kept secrets in the league is that the Los Angeles Lakers need a center and heading into the offseason, one of the options for the Lakers is former Hawks center Clint Capela. Capela is an unrestricted free agent this offseason and according to Anthony Irwin at Clutchpoints, Capela is going to be a target:

"League sources anticipate yet another tough market for free agents this summer, but it's not so dry that Steven Adams will be available to the Lakers, let alone Myles Turner or Naz Reid. Clint Capela is considered within reach at $5.7 million and, as such, is expected to sit pretty high on the Lakers' target board.

The Lakers could also target Kevon Looney using their taxpayer mid-level exception, but if he was going to accept that contract, he'd likely get it from the Golden State Warriors, sources say. Al Horford had a really good season given his age, and the Boston Celtics are going to be looking to shed salary, so he could also be an option if the Lakers want to double the number of 40+ year-olds on the roster.

If it's Capela, Horford, Looney, or Adams, then league sources do believe the Lakers would utilize their taxpayer mid-level exception on a center even after trading for their starter. There are plenty within the organization pushing for this outcome, sources say. That said, there are others who point to Doncic, James, Hachimura, Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, and Jarred Vanderbilt as too much frontcourt spending.

So, one thing to look for, potentially – especially if the Lakers use their taxpayer mid-level exception on a big – is a trade where the Lakers send out a mid-tier expiring salary to bring in a more productive perimeter player. This would obviously come after the trade for their starting center, so as to know which salaries they'll need for that deal, but balancing the roster should be a priority this summer."

The season began with Capela still starting for the Hawks, but there was a change in January. Capela was benched in favor of Onyeka Okongwu, something that has been speculated about since Okongwu was taken with the 6th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. Capela was once again in trade rumors leading up to the trade deadline and while he was not dealt, he then had to deal with injuries that kept him out for a good portion of the season after the deadline.

In terms of numbers and stats, this was not a great year for Capela, who showed signs of aging for the first time since being a Hawks. He had his lowest PPG since 2015-2016, his second year in the NBA, his lowest blockers per game since his rookie season, his lowest RPG since joining the Hawks, his lowest field goal percentage since his rookie season, and his fewest minutes played per game since 2015-2016.

Per Cleaning the Glass, Capela finished the season with a 2.1% Block Percentage, the lowest in his career, as well as the lowest EFG% since his rookie season and the lowest two-point percentage (56.2%) since his rookie season. It was not just a defensive decline for Capela, but he was not finishing at the rim and shooting the ball as well as he had in the past. Capela had been an elite rim-running lob threat alongside Trae Young in the past, but he was not finishing well, as evidenced by his low effective field goal percentage and two-point percentage.

Capela was still a high-level rebounder though. He finished with a 13.9 fgOR% (91st percentile) and a 23 fgDR%. That was his top skill and wherever he lands, he can still provide that.

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