The Atlanta Hawks may have telegraphed their offseason plans to add a center during the 2024-25 campaign, switching from Clint Capela as their starter to Onyeka Okongwu.
In his fifth season with the Hawks, Capela started the first 41 games of the season.
The Hawks switched to Okongwu roughly one month before the All-Star break. Capela made 14 appearances off the bench after they reconvened, marking his first minutes as a full-time backup since 2015-16 when he was still with the Houston Rockets, before essentially shutting down due to injuries.
Bleacher Report’s Eric Pincus believes Capela’s time with the Hawks is over, but also offered a cutting realty check for the veteran, who will likely be seeking greener pastures this summer.
“Capela, 31, has probably aged out of his stay in Atlanta. Onyeka Okongwu and others will fill that spot, leaving the veteran rebounder and shot-blocker to find a new home. He should expect a decrease in pay, but he may be one of the top available bigs on the market,” Pincus wrote on June 18.
“He’s not much of a scorer, and his efficiency at the rim has dropped from 65.3 percent from the field in 2022-3 to 55.9 percent. Still, he might provide a team with double-double production as a 24-minute starter, sharing minutes on a playoff-capable team.”
Capela is wrapping a two-year, $45.8 million deal signed in 2021.
He led the NBA in rebounding in his first season with the Hawks, but has seen his production (and now role) diminish since.
“Capela … is viewed around the league by rival talent evaluators as a candidate who could leave in free agency – a scenario first mentioned back in late March on HoopsHype – after being benched in favor of Onyeka Okongwu and dangled in trade talks before the deadline,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto wrote on June 16.
Clint Capela predicted to land ‘stopgap’ role with Lakers
Capela is hardly done, but he may have to accept that he is at least viewed as a backup-caliber player.
That could still land him a prominent role on a contender, though.
Pincus predicted that Capels would land with the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency, a move that has loomed as a possibility for months. Per Spotrac, the taxpayer mid-level exception is worth $5.7 million for 2025-26.
Capela would get to play with Luka Doncic, who would still find him on rim runs just as Trae Young has for the last five seasons, and, presumably, LeBron James, who would do the same.
Still, it is shaping up to be a turning-point offseason for the former No. 25 pick in 2014.