Mavericks ‘Would Love’ to Acquire $130 Million 29-Year-Old Star: Report

The Dallas Mavericks “would love” to acquire Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks, according to NBA insider Marc Stein.

Capela is on the trade block, according to Brian Windhorst and Tim MacMahon of ESPN, and the Mavericks are very interested in pairing the big man with Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.

“The Mavericks don’t want to be done,” Stein said on his podcast. “Maybe they are done with this roster because further moves are not available to them. They would love it if the chance to make another trade run at Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks materializes to this point. That opportunity has not availed itself to the Mavericks.

“But will Atlanta move Capela elsewhere which creates an opportunity for Dallas to try to get in as a third team? Or would they trade him somewhere to a team that really only needs him for contract purposes, salary cap matching purposes in the trade, and then that team makes Capela available?”

Capela averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds last season for the Hawks while shooting 65.3% from the field. The 29-year-old signed a two-year, $45.5 million contract extension with Atlanta in September 2021. He will have made more than $130 million in his career once his current contract expires.

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.

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Proposed Trade Lands Mavericks Clint Capela

Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report proposed that the Mavericks trade Tim Hardaway Jr., Christian Wood and a 2026 lottery-protected first-round pick to the Hawks for Capela. It would be a sign-and-trade deal since Wood is an unrestricted free agent.

“For the Hawks, this deal would open up a path to starting Onyeka Okongwu,” Bailey wrote. “It would also give them a floor-spacing backup 5 in Wood whose shooting could widen driving lanes for Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Having another catch-and-shoot option to flank those drives in Tim Hardaway Jr. would be helpful, too.

“Meanwhile, Capela would give the Mavericks the bona fide starting 5 and rim-runner whom they’ve been after. He has plenty of experience playing with a high-volume pick-and-roll creator like Luka Dončić and is a far more formidable defensive anchor than what they had last season.

“Garrison Mathews doesn’t offer the same shooting upside as Hardaway, but he’s hit 36.7 percent of his triples in his career. Having a wing and big on both sides of this trade doesn’t throw off the balance of either roster like a Capela-for-Hardaway swap might.”

The Mavericks are looking to trade Hardaway Jr. and will not re-sign Wood.

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Mavericks Are Not Interested in Jaylen Nowell

The Mavericks are not interested in signing Jaylen Nowell, according to Stein. Nowell is an unrestricted free agent. He played for the Minnesota Timberwolves last season.

“I know there were some recent reports that Jaylen Nowell from Minnesota is a potential target,” Stein said on his podcast. “I was actually told the Mavericks are not really in that race at this point. So to this point, I would scratch Nowell as a target for the Mavericks, at least that was that’s what I was told yesterday.”

Nowell appeared in 65 games for the Timberwolves last season. He averaged 10.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.0 assists while shooting 44.8% from the floor, 28.9% from 3 and 77.8% from the free-throw line.

The 24-year-old Nowell has career averages of 9.1 points, 2.2 boards and 1.9 assists in 184 games with the Timberwolves. He was the 43rd overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft out of Washington.

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