Atlanta Hawks: 3 big trades to upgrade the center position
Atlanta Hawks possible upgrade at center No. 3: Jonas Valanciunas has constantly worked to turn himself into the prototype center
When Jonas Valanciunas entered the league with the Toronto Raptors in 2012, he was skilled. But he was also still confined to the box of being a “traditional” center. Better banging down low than helping to space the floor. In fact, he didn’t even attempt a three for his first few seasons in the NBA after coming over from Lithuania.
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Since then, he hasn’t exactly become a volume three-point shooter (he’s averaged fewer than 1.5 tiples in each of the past four seasons) but he’s an efficient one; knocking down his threes at better than a 35 percent clip.
That threat, similarly to Joel Embiid — who shoots 32 percent from three in his career — who’s acknowledged he just needs to make enough to keep the defense honest.
Valanciunas is also coming off of scoring a career-best 17.1 points per game for Memphis. He’s older and is a worse rim protector than Capela. But it doesn’t hurt that he’ll make about $3 million less and will come off the books than the Hawks big man. That could play a bigger role than most realize. Collins’s situation is in the news now, but the Hawks have Kevin Huerter on the horizon as well as Trae Young’s inevitable max extension.
The pitch to Memphis could be a swap emphasis on Capela adding to their physicality or perhaps offering a surplus perimeter player but that is less likely given it would require a secondary move. You’re not pairing Capela and Valanciunas.
They also have Jaren Jackson Jr who should eventually move to center himself.
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In all honesty, the former Toronto Raptor might be the best fit when considering all factors. He scores at least as well as Capela while offering a more diverse offensive skill set. And the Hawks wouldn’t lose much on the boards either. Capela was third in total rebounds and seventh in defensive boards. Valanciunas was ninth and 11th, respectively.