Hawks $11 million reserve generating heavy trade interest amid roster logjam: Insider

Atlanta Hawks general manager Landry Fields declined to get into specifics about the roster and who would be on it going into the 2024-25 season. Tipping his hand too soon could be a blow to the leverage in negotiations.

Still, more changes to the roster are expected. The Hawks’ roster is over the limit even after letting Saddiq Bey walk in free agency. 

They might not have to work too hard to find a taker for one of the bigs.

“The Hawks have been trying to trade Clint Capela for more than a year, but league sources say that the Atlanta big man drawing the most external interest is newly acquired Larry Nance Jr.,” The Stein Line’s Marc Stein wrote on July 11 (subscription required). “Word is Nance, who came to the Hawks in the recent Dejounte Murray trade, is being chased by multiple teams in need of proven size.”

Nance, 31, averaged 5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.0 steals last season. He is in the final year of a two-year, $21.6 million contract. Nance has an $11.2 million cap hit in 2024-25.

It is unclear how he factors into the Hawks’ plans for 2024-25. But the Hawks social media team released a hype video after the trade was finalized.

Nance finished second behind Donovan Mitchell in the 2018 Slam Dunk Contest. Mitchell was starring for the Utah Jazz under now-Hawks head coach Quin Snyder at the time 

The reference to “SpongeBob Squarepants” character Patrick Star comes from a Bleacher Report edit of Nance – then a member of the Cavaliers – dunking on then-Denver Nuggets center Mason Plumlee from that season.

Hawks GM: ‘Roster crunch’ will lead to ‘tough decisions’

Capela is entering the final year of a two-year, $45.8 million contract.  He will count $22.2 million against the cap in 2024-25. However, The Athletic’s Will Guillory reported on July 10 (subscription required) that the Hawks had no interest in including Capela in the Murray trade. 

Guillory said the same applied to Capela’s top backup, Onyeka Okongwu. 

Okongwu is starting a four-year, $61.9 million pact with a $14 million charge in 2024-25. He also expanded his offensive range enough to warrant time at power forward in 2023-24.

“We're definitely going to be in a roster crunch right now,” Fields told reporters on July 9. “We're obviously over the amount of players that we can bring back. So from now until start of season we'll have some more tough decisions to make.

“I think we're in a good spot. In terms of who will be on the roster and who won't, that's a question for another day.”

The Hawks have already delayed Bruno Fernando’s trigger date on his contract twice.

Fernando, who is in Year 3 of a four-year, $10.8 million contract, is set to count $2.7 million against the cap in 2024-25. His new trigger date is August 1. There is also a $2.8 million player option for the 2025-26 season.

Nance can play both the 4 and 5, giving the Hawks options behind starters Capela and Jalen Johnson. But Nance has logged most of his time at center in 2022-23 and 2023-24.

That could mean more minutes for Okongwu at power forward.

However, this just leaves the Hawks with more questions. Johnson is in line for a significant payday and “Locked On Hawks” host Brad Rowland relayed hearing the forward would not accept a five-year, $125 million contract.

The Hawks’ roster crunch could quickly become a cap crunch even after the work they have already done to shed salary.