Hawks reportedly looking to trade starting center before deadline

The Hawks hope to trade starting center Clint Capela before his $22.27M contract expires in the offseason, sources tell Jake Fischer of The Stein Line.

Atlanta has seven weeks to try to move Capela. The trade deadline is 2 p.m. CT on Feb. 6.

According to Fischer, the Hawks’ willingness to deal with Capela is partially motivated by their confidence in young backup center Onyeka Okongwu, a former lottery pick in the first season of a four-year, $62M rookie scale extension. Okongwu will miss at least the next four games due to left knee inflammation, but he’s reportedly viewed as a long-term part of the team’s core.

After playing a career-high 33.6 minutes per game during the 2018-19 campaign, Capela has seen his playing time decline in each of the past six seasons. He’s averaging 23.0 MPG in ’24-25, the third-lowest mark of his 11-year career.

Capela’s minutes may have been steadily dwindling over the past several seasons, but he remains quite productive, with his per-36 averages for ’24-25 right in line with his career numbers. In 27 games this season, he’s averaging 10.0 PPG, 9.4 RPG and 1.0 BPG.

A 30-year-old big man from Switzerland, Capela has popped in several trade rumors in recent years. He’s in his sixth season with Atlanta, which acquired him in a four-team deal in February 2020.

As Fischer observes, the tricky part for the Hawks is Capela’s cap hit, which is pretty significant. It’s understandable that they’d want to get something in return for him if they don’t plan to re-sign him (they already have a lot of money committed to their roster in ’25-26). Still, it might be difficult to get solid value back for Capela given his salary, expiring contract, and the fact that center is a pretty deep position in the NBA.