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Needing to upgrade their roster after a disappointing 38-44 record last season, the Dallas Mavericks are keeping an eye on what the Atlanta Hawks might do this offseason.
Per Yahoo Sports’ Jake Fischer, the Mavs have had preliminary talks with the Hawks about trading the No. 10 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and Dāvis Bertāns for John Collins and pick No. 15.
Fischer noted those talks “did not develop very far,” and the Mavericks’ preference would be to swap Clint Capela in for Collins as part of that deal.
The Hawks have seemingly been trying to trade Collins ever since he signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension in August 2021. He’s owed $51.9 million over the next two seasons with a $26.6 million player option for 2025-26.
Dallas was one of four teams that had interest in acquiring the 25-year-old early in the 2022-23 season, per Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium.
Things changed dramatically for the Mavericks over the course of the season that altered their roster needs. Kyrie Irving was acquired from the Brooklyn Nets before the trade deadline in February.
NBA insider Marc Stein reported last month the Mavs “remain intent on re-signing Irving” when free agency begins on July 1.
If Dallas is going to build around Irving and Luka Dončić, it’s not a surprise that Capela would be more appealing to the team in a potential trade.
The Mavericks allowed the fourth-highest field-goal percentage in the restricted area (70.1) from Irving’s first game on Feb. 8 until the end of the regular season. Christian Wood and Dwight Powell, Dallas’ two primary centers in 2022-23, are set to become free agents.
Capela was the sixth-best defensive center by Box Score RAPTOR (plus-3.3) and 12th-best by Defensive RAPTOR (plus-2.4) last season, per FiveThirtyEight.com.
Hawks head coach Quin Snyder, who was hired to replace Nate McMillan on Feb. 26, will have to decide the direction he wants to take with the roster after their first-round playoff loss to the Boston Celtics.
Capela, 29, will start his two-year, $46 million contract extension that was signed in September 2021 and runs through the 2024-25 season. He averaged 12.0 points and 11.0 rebounds in 65 appearances for the Hawks last season.