Even though there are still a few big dominoes that could fall, like a potential Damian Lillard trade, the NBA offseason is mostly crawled to a stop. But that doesn’t mean teams like the Dallas Mavericks and several others aren’t still working feverishly to continue improving the roster.
We’ve already seen Kyrie Irving come back on a three-year, $120 million contract, and the Mavericks even swung another draft day trade, landing center Richaun Holmes. But these isolated moves likely aren’t enough to catapult a team that missed the postseason into an NBA Finals contender overnight.
The Mavericks may still be looking to make additions to their roster, and one name that’s come up often in the past could be recirculating. That name is current Atlanta Hawks starting center Clint Capela, who’s averaged a double-double for the past six seasons.
According to Marc Stein, the Mavericks would still “love” to make another run at trading for Capela, but the opportunity has not come just yet. It’s an interesting scenario, considering the Mavericks reportedly had a chance to acquire the 29-year-old on draft day but weren’t willing to pay the price Atlanta requested.
The Hawks reportedly asked for the tenth overall pick plus Josh Green, but the Mavericks weren’t willing to part with the 18th overall pick from the 2020 NBA Draft. Yet, Stein raised the possibility of the Hawks still being open to moving Capela in another trade, which might offer Dallas another chance to sneak in as a third team.
What’s clear is that the Mavericks would like to add Capela, but whether he’s actually available remains to be seen. The Hawks may have to swing another trade that lands them a replacement first. Previously Pascal Siakam’s name came up as a potential trade target for Atlanta, but it’s not known how willing the Raptors are to discuss his name either. For now, each team may be set on their current core, but it’s possible a Lillard or even James Harden trade shakes things loose eventually.
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