Should the Atlanta Hawks take an interest in Nic Claxton

The Atlanta Hawks are going on a roster rehabilitation journey this offseason. They are not looking to tear it down, they are looking to make adjustments and tweaks which will make both the offense and defense work more efficiently.

This is hopefully going to have the impact of taking the Hawks back to the top of the Eastern Conference which is where this team belongs. Trae Young is a true superstar who is developing into his own game and is going to lead this team as far as is humanly possible.

Now that the Minnesota Timberwolves are showing interest in trading for Clint Capela, there could be a spot opening up in the big man rotation. Should the Atlanta Hawks look to fill that with Brooklyn Nets big man Nic Claxton?

The Atlanta Hawks should only look at Nic Claxton if they move a big man

The reason that Claxton may become available is that the Nets are very unlikely to match any offer that is given to Claxton. The defensive-minded center is expected to be offered the full mid-level exception by another team and the Nets are salary cap-strapped and simply cannot afford to match it.

The joy for the Hawks is that they have a really good rotation at center with Capela being the starting pivot and Onyeka Okongwu as the reserve. Capela is receiving interest from around the league and Okongwu has vowed to return to the Hawks next season owning a jump shop.

If the Hawks decide to trade Capela then Okongwu is ready to step into the starting role. This will mean that Claxton would be the reserve center. Offensively this would work for the Hawks. Claxton knows his game and is able to effectively finish at the hoop which will benefit the play of Young.

Claxton is going to cost too much to be the third big in the rotation. This means that the Hawks should only pursue him if they have a hole in their roster thanks to a trade.