Getty Clint Capela guards RJ Barrett
The Dallas Mavericks want to acquire a 29-year-old $130 million center.
According to Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports, the Mavericks are interested in acquiring Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks instead of John Collins.
“In Atlanta, the Hawks will continue to explore trade scenarios for Collins. That has so far included preliminary talks with Dallas about swapping Collins and the No. 15 pick in the draft with the Mavericks for the No. 10 pick and Dāvis Bertāns,” Fischer wrote. “Those talks did not develop very far, sources said, and Dallas indicated it would be more willing to consider that deal if Hawks center Clint Capela was the returning player from Atlanta.”
Capela averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds this past season for the Hawks while shooting 65.3% from the floor. He signed a two-year, $45.5 million contract extension with Atlanta in September 2021.
Capela, who began his career with the Houston Rockets, will make $20.6 million next season. He will have earned over $130 million in his NBA career once his current contract is over. The veteran has career averages of 12.4 points and 10.7 rebounds with the Rockets and Hawks.
Christian Wood Won’t Be Back With the Mavericks
The Mavericks will not re-sign Christian Wood this offseason when the big man becomes an unrestricted free agent, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.
With Wood gone, Dallas will need a new center, which is why they are targeting Capela.
“Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of Dallas’ trade to acquire Christian Wood in exchange for the 26th pick in the 2022 NBA Draft (which Houston used to acquire the draft rights to Wendell Moore Jr.) and the contracts of veterans Sterling Brown, Trey Burke, Marquese Chriss and Boban Marjanović,” Stein wrote. “Wood is bound for unrestricted free agency with the Mavericks, as I reported here April 9 and have subsequently reconfirmed this week, not expected to make him an offer to return. The Mavericks, sources say, have moved on and are looking to remake their center rotation.”
Wood appeared in 67 games for the Mavericks this past season. He averaged 16.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists while shooting 51.5% from the field, 37.6% from beyond the arc and 77.2% from the free-throw line.
The Mavericks won just 38 games in 2022-23 despite having All-Stars Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving. They didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament after making the Western Conference Finals in 2022.
The Mavericks Are Also Looking at Bojan Bogdanovic
According to Jonathan Givony of ESPN, the Mavericks are also discussing a trade sending Tim Hardaway Jr. and the 10th overall pick in this year’s draft to the Detroit Pistons for Bojan Bogdanovic and the 31st overall pick.
Dallas is attempting to surround Doncic and Irving with more win-now talent.
“Some trade scenarios could be in play for the Pistons with the No. 31 pick as well, for example, packaging Bojan Bogdanovic for Tim Hardaway Jr. and the No. 10 pick, sources tell ESPN,” Givony wrote.
Bogdanovic averaged 21.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.6 assists for the Pistons in 2022-23 while shooting 48.8% from the floor, 41.1% from 3-point land and 88.4% from the free-throw line. The 34-year-old signed a two-year, $39 million extension with Detroit in October 2022.
