Proposed Trade Lands Mavericks Clint Capela, Kelly Oubre Jr. & Thaddeus Young

Getty Clint Capela (left), Thaddeus Young and Kelly Oubre Jr. (right)

A new trade proposal has the Dallas Mavericks landing Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks, Thaddeus Young from the Toronto Raptors and Kelly Oubre Jr. from the Charlotte Hornets.

In an August 7 column called “A New Pascal Siakam 4-team Trade Where Everybody Wins,” Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed the following four-team trade involving the Mavericks, Raptors, Hornets and Hawks:

Toronto Raptors Receive: De’Andre Hunter, Tim Hardaway Jr., Maxi Kleber, James Bouknight, Vit Krejci, a 2029 first-round pick from Atlanta and a 2030 first-round pick swap from Atlanta

Atlanta Hawks Receive: Pascal Siakam, Gordon Hayward and a 2027 first-round pick from Dallas

Dallas Mavericks Receive: Clint Capela, Thaddeus Young and Kelly Oubre Jr. (sign-and-trade)

Charlotte Hornets Receive: Bogdan Bogdanović, Otto Porter Jr. and Christian Wood (sign-and-trade)

The Mavericks “would love” to acquire Capela from the Hawks, according to NBA insider Marc Stein. Capela is on the trade block, per Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, and the Mavericks are interested in pairing the center with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

“Capela is one of the game’s better rim-runners and -protectors, and he’d get plenty of open dunk opportunities with Luka Dončić and Kyrie Irving setting him up,” Bailey wrote. “He’d inspire a little more fear as a defensive anchor than any of the centers Dallas started last season too.”

Capela averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds last season for the Hawks while shooting 65.3% from the field. He signed a two-year, $45.5 million extension with Atlanta in September 2021.

The 29-year-old Capela, who began his NBA career with the Houston Rockets, will make $20.6 million next season. The veteran has career averages of 12.4 points and 10.7 rebounds with the Rockets and Hawks.

Kelly Oubre Jr. Is a Solid Scorer

Oubre Jr. appeared in 48 games for the Hornets last season. The lefty averaged 20.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 43.1% from the floor, 31.9% from beyond the arc and 76.0% from the free-throw line.

The 27-year-old Oubre Jr. has career averages of 12.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assists with the Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors and Hornets.

“Getting a rotation wing in the deal in the form of Kelly Oubre Jr. is a nice bonus that didn’t really surface till the Hornets entered the fray,” Bailey wrote. “He and Christian Wood both being unsigned made them obvious sign-and-trade candidates for each other, assuming they’re willing to play along and the respective teams involved want to pay them (I’m thinking something around mid-level exception money, or $11-12 million a year).”

The Mavericks have expressed “exploratory interest” in Oubre Jr., who is an unrestricted free agent, according to Michael Scotto of HoopsHype.

Mavericks Predicted to ‘Shock the NBA’ Next Season

In an August 4 story called “6 Teams That Can Really Shock the NBA In 2023-24,” Bailey wrote that he believes the Mavericks “have a chance to be extremely dangerous” next season.

“The Dallas Mavericks were one of 2022-23’s biggest disappointments, and their late-season tank job was so obvious and flagrant that it cost them a $750,000 fine,” Bailey wrote. “This summer, though, they re-signed Kyrie Irving, added one of the best shooters of all time in Seth Curry, signed one of Europe’s most dynamic guards in Dante Exum and essentially replaced Reggie Bullock with Grant Williams. Add all that to Luka Dončić, and it’s easy to imagine the Mavericks being among the league leaders in the difference of wins between 2022-23 and 2023-24.

“Last season, Dallas was plus-4.6 points per 100 possessions (with a 94th-percentile offense) when Dončić and Irving were both on the floor, and they now have a deeper and more versatile supporting cast around them. That may not be enough to vault them from out of the playoffs to title contention, but Dončić is just over a year removed from a conference finals appearance. And Irving has plenty of postseason heroics of his own. The Mavs have a chance to be extremely dangerous.”

The Mavericks re-signed Irving and Dwight Powell, signed Seth Curry and Dante Exum and acquired Grant Williams from the Boston Celtics in a sign-and-trade deal this summer.

Dallas won only 38 games last season despite having Irving and Doncic. The team didn’t even qualify for the play-in tournament after making the Western Conference Finals in 2022.