Larry Nance Jr. has already drawn trade interest since landing with Hawks
Capela is not the only Hawks big man who might want to be on alert when the trade winds start to blow.
“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.”
The Hawks’ social media team shared two hype videos after trading Murray to the Pelicans to introduce their new players: one for Daniels and the other for Nance. The 31-year-old Nance averaged 5.7 points, 5.0 boards, and 1.9 assists in 2023-24.
He also shot 41.5% from beyond the arc on 1.1 attempts per game.
Like Capela, Nance is on an expiring contract in the final year of a two-year, $21.5 million deal and could walk for nothing in free agency in 2025.
There is also the matter of the logjam in the frontcourt with five players already in line for frontcourt minutes and several others who could moonlight there as well. He also may not fit this current group’s timeline, with many of the core pieces 26 years old or younger.
Veteran leadership is also important.
Moving Nance would not only take away from that, but it would also diminish some of the lineup versatility rostering the veteran comes with.