In the words of general manager Landry Fields on media day, the Atlanta Hawks are “not a finished product.”
That is a potentially illuminating comment for several players on the roster. More notably, Fields also said they have not finalized plans for veteran backup center Cody Zeller’s role or even his place on the roster.
Since that remains the case, let’s look at some potential landing spots for Zeller.
Cleveland Cavaliers could use Hawks’ Cody Zeller
Team need is one of the most significant factors in our evaluation, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, at least on paper, profile as a team in need of depth at center.
ESPN’s Bobby Marks projects their depth chart to include backup Dean Wade, a power forward by trade, and 33-year-old Tristan Thompson behind starter Jarrett Allen. Both Thompson and Wade are listed at 6-foot-9.
The 7-foot Mobley will also log minutes at center.
But the Cavalier, like the Hawks, encountered serious depth issues at the position in 2023-24, including with Allen.
Zeller is tied with second-year big man Mouhamed Gueye, who is a 4 by trade, as the tallest player on the Hawks’ roster. He was also productive when he averaged double-digit minutes in 2022-23.
Zeller with 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds with the Miami Heat in 2022-23.
That was a 15-game stretch, though, with Zeller making 42 appearances total in 2021-22 and 2022-23.
The irony is that Cleveland is the hometown of Hawks big man Larry Nance Jr. He spoke candidly about returning home after his playing days, saying his trade from the Cavaliers was “different” from the other times he was moved on “The Hoop Collective” in September.
Still, Zeller is a proven veteran and has relatively low mileage, especially in recent years.
He would also come cheap. Zeller is one of a three-year, $11 million contract with a $3.5 million salary in 2024-25.
He will get that regardless of whether or not the Hawks part ways, meaning a potential new team could pick him up for the veteran minimum. That is still $3.3 million, per Spotrac. But that potential team would not have to be concerned with Zeller holding out for more.
The Cavaliers have two players – Thompson and Sam Merrill – on non-guaranteed, non-exhibit-10 contracts that they can cut with no consequence.
Zeller, 32, is not much younger than Thompson. But the additional size could be a bonus for Cleveland with Wade already on hand to fill the undersized role. The Cavaliers are not the only team in need of center help.
Los Angeles Lakers a potential an under-the-radar fit for Cody Zeller
At first glance, the Los Angeles Lakers do not need a center. They have a star in Anthony Davis there to open games. And, when Davis slides to his preferred power forward spot, they have a plethora of players to put on the floor alongside him.
However, those players have either not performed up to snuff or do not have the track record to bolster their position over someone with more experience.
They have Christian Koloko, Christian Wood, and Jaxson Hayes.
Koloko, a second-round pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, is on a two-way contract and missed the entire 2023-24 campaign with blood clots. Wood is currently recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery he underwent in September. Hayes had a negative impact on the Lakers last year.
“The Lakers were a minus-4.1 and allowed 118.9 points per 100 possessions last season with Hayes at center,” Marks wrote.
Zeller is older than everyone in the Lakers’ current group of centers, including Davis.
Hayes and Koloko, both 24 years old, are young enough to keep around as developmental projects. But Wood battled injuries in 2023-24 and was brought in largely at the behest of former head coach Darvin Ham.
Wood is in the final year of a two-year, $5.7 million contract, exercising his player option for the Year 2 in May.
Zeller is taller than Wood and more proven than Hayes and Koloko.
Hawks’ Cody Zeller could make sense for recent champions
The Denver Nuggets, like the Lakers, do not jump off the page as a team in immediate need of center help. They, of course, have All-Everything center Nikola Jokic operating as their hub, which takes roughly 34 minutes per game.
Like the Cavaliers, though, the Nuggets’ depth behind Jokic a too questionable for comfort, and that is not a knock against who they have on hand.
Zeke Nnaji is an ascending player at 23 years old.
But he is undersized at 6-foot-9. The Nuggets also have veteran DeAndre Jordan to fill the role of size. But he is 36 years old and has not reached the 40-appearance mark in either of his two seasons in Denver.
The Nuggets do have 30-year-old Dario Saric, who can log minutes at both power forward and center. But Zeller could represent an opportunity to solidify an experienced frontcourt duo.
Denver struggles in many areas when Jokic sits. But rebounding may be one of the easiest for them to solve and Zeller happens to thrive specifically where missing Jokic hurts the Nuggets.
Zeller has ranked in the 77th percentile or better in offensive rebounding percentage in every season going back to 2019-20, per Cleaning The Glass. He would even elevate the Nuggets in that respect, with Jokic ranking in the 29th percentile in ORB% last season.