Rival contacted Hawks about trade for veteran starter: Report

Atlanta Hawks General Manager Landry Fields said that he feels good taking the current roster into the regular season. However, he also noted they are facing a roster crunch with 14 players on guaranteed contracts.

The situation has left reserve center Bruno Fernando in limbo as they try to navigate their personnel problems.

There was some interest in starter Clint Capela but it has since quieted.

“Clint Capela [from] Atlanta was one big that the Knicks had checked in on,” SportsNet New York’s Ian Begley reported on “Begley’s Mailbag” on July 18. “I don't know kind of how far talks went. I don't know if they're active at this very moment. But they did check in on Capela.

“You can infer that Mitchell Robinson would have probably been in that trade because Capela is a starting center. Or maybe the Knicks would have said Robinson and Capela could be our platoon at Center this season. But nonetheless, Capela, higher-salary veteran center that they did check in on.”

Capela averaged 11.5 points, 10.6 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.2 assists in 2023-24. It was his seventh straight season averaging a double-double.

The blocks were his highest mark since the 2020-21 season. 

The campaign also marked the third straight season his rebounding numbers fell since he led the league with a 14.3 RPG in 2020-21. Capela is in the final year of a two-year, $45.8 million contract and will count $22.2 million against the cap in 2024-25.

Robinson averaged 5.6 points, 8.5 boards, and 1.1 blocks in 31 appearances with the Knicks in 2023-24. His appearances, blocks, and points were all career lows.

He did post a career-high 1.2 steals, though.

Robinson is taller and four years younger than Capela and would cost the Hawks less to roster. He will count $14.3 million against the cap in 2024-24 in Year 3 of a four-year, $60 million contract. He is set to count $12.9 million against the cap in 2025-25.

Hawks’ talks with Knicks could be complicated

The Hawks and Knicks could struggle to find common ground on a trade package around one or both of their big men.

For the Hawks, Fields’ words are prescient. 

The Hawks are already functionally at the 15-player roster limit. And Robinson-for-Capela alone would not satisfy league salary-matching rules. The Knicks have done a lot to put the rest of the roster together over the last two seasons, so finding a suitable trade package could be an issue.

A package of Robinson, his current top backup Jericho Sims, backup guard Miles McBride, and veteran reserve forward Keita Bates-Diop would satisfy league rules.

It would also create a host of roster complications for both sides.

Atlanta would first need to part with four players to comply with league rules. Every player in the aforementioned scenario – which would also add roughly $2 million to the Hawks’ bottom line – is on a guaranteed contract. 

Bates-Diop is also restricted from trade aggregation until September 9, which leaves plenty of time for another opportunity to arise.

For the Knicks, they could be in the same position they are now, searching for a backup center.

They don’t have the expendable pieces that fit the Hawks if they looked to keep both Robinson and Capela.

A package of Capela and recently-acquired big man Larry Nance Jr. for Randle and McBride would work financially. But it would also displace Jalen Johnson, whose best spot is at power forward and who does many of the same things as Randle on a cheaper contract (for now).

Begley said he expects they add a big man and enter the season with the roster virtually as is.

He also noted that things can quickly change. Training camp opens on either September 27 or October 1, depending on whether or not the Hawks open the season internationally.