Big man Clint Capela is in his fifth season playing for the Atlanta Hawks, and he was one of the better players at his position in the NBA earlier on in his stint with the team.
He averaged a double-double in each of his first four seasons in Atlanta. Capela also led the NBA in rebounds per game and finished sixth in the Defensive Player of the Year voting in his maiden campaign as a Hawk.
However, center Onyeka Okongwu has now seemingly staked his claim as Atlanta’s top center, and the Swiss native averaged just 21.4 minutes per game this season before he went down with an injury. According to HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto, the early expectation is that Capela will not re-sign with the Hawks once he hits free agency in the summer.
“After being benched in favor of Onyeka Okongwu and dangled in trade talks before the deadline, the early expectation is Hawks center Clint Capela will sign elsewhere in unrestricted free agency this summer, league sources told HoopsHype,” Scotto wrote.
Capela has been sidelined for quite a bit with an injury to his left hand and is expected to miss the remainder of the season. He last saw the floor for the Hawks in the team’s win over the Philadelphia 76ers on March 10 and totaled four points, nine rebounds and a pair of blocked shots in that contest.
Okongwu — who was selected by the Hawks with the No. 6 overall pick in the 2020 NBA Draft — has played at a high level across 32 starts in his fifth season in the league. When a member of Atlanta’s opening lineup, he’s averaging 14.8 points, 10.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.0 block and 1.2 steals per contest.
While the growth that Okongwu has displayed this season seemingly makes Capela expendable for the Hawks, Capela still has a skill set to be majorly impactful for a squad in need of a man in the middle. Per 36 minutes this season, he averaged 14.9 points, 14.4 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game with Atlanta.
He could prove to be the missing piece to a championship puzzle next season for a team such as the Golden State Warriors. Capela stands out as a clear upgrade over the Warriors’ starting center for a good chunk of this season, youngster Trayce Jackson-Davis.
Hopefully, Capela’s recovery process is going smoothly, and he will be feeling healthy enough to be a consistent contributor next season, whether that be with the Hawks or a different team.
