After Murray Trade, What's Next for the Hawks?

A Clint Capela trade should be next on the docket for Atlanta

Apr 6, 2024; Denver, Colorado, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) drives to the basket while guarded by Denver Nuggets forward Zeke Nnaji (22) in the second half at Ball Arena. Mandatory Credit: Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports / Michael Ciaglo-USA TODAY Sports

With the trade of Dejounte Murray to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Hawks are now in a very interesting position from a salary cap standpoint.

ESPN's Bobby Marks broke down Atlanta's current cap sheet in the wake of the Murray trade.

Impact in Atlanta

Larry Nance Jr. is entering the last year of his contract- $11.2M

Dyson Daniels has 2 years left- $6.1M and $7.7 (team).

Atlanta has 13 players under contract

Below the tax: $7.6

Below 1st apron: $11.7

Below 2nd apron: $21

Atlanta is hard capped at the…

— Bobby Marks (@BobbyMarks42) June 28, 2024

As a reminder, being hard-capped at the second apron is far from ideal. Second-apron teams cannot aggregate players in a trade, must take on less or equal amounts of money in a trade, lose access to the partial mid-level exception, cannot use trade exceptions and are subject to draft penalties.

Therefore, the pressure in on for the Hawks to shed salary and get below the second apron so that they are not subject to those restrictions. They would be essentially locked into this roster if they stayed at the second apron, which is basically a guarentee that they will be exploring ways to shed salary and stay below the tax.

Looking at the Hawks' current roster, there are ways that they can create that salary cap space. Players on contracts with double-digit salaries are bolded. Note that while Jalen Johnson is not officially on a double-digit salary, his expected contract will put him in that tier.

Position	Starter	Reserves
PG	Trae Young	Kobe Bufkin, Seth Lundy
SG	Bogdan Bogdanovic	Dyson Daniels, Kobe Bufkin
SF	Jalen Johnson	DeAndre Hunter, Dyson Daniels
PF	Zaccharie Risacher	DeAndre Hunter, Dyson Daniels, Larry Nance Jr.
C	Clint Capela	Onyeka Okongwu, Larry Nance Jr.

Clint Capela and DeAndre Hunter both stand out to me as players who are likely to get moved in order to get under the second-apron. Their salaries of $22 milion and $21 million are big enough to be used in a trade, but not large enough to scare other teams off from taking them onto their cap sheets. Furthermore, both players have value at this stage in their careers. Capela's appeal is as a defensive-minded backup center who can still serve as a rim runner. His contract being expiring also makes him attractive to rebuilding teams because they are not taking on any long-term money in the deal.

Hunter is a good perimeter defender and floor-stretching wing who just set a career-high in three-point percentage and attempts. He does have injury concerns and his contract extends for another two years at a rising salary, but the NBA is undoubtedly leaning towards wings of his archetype. Of the two, you would want to get the most back for Hunter due to both his age and positional value.

Action Network's Matt Moore gave his thoughts on Capela's trade value. According to Moore, Capela does have interest from a few teams, but they are concerned about his age and declining skills.

"Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela has reportedly drawn interest from the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards amid buzz about a trade to the Los Angeles Lakers, per Action Network's Matt Moore.

Moore noted the struggles the Hawks have had finding a deal for Capela in recent seasons, and an NBA executive commented on why Atlanta hasn't been able to move him. 'Everyone wants centers, but Capela is 30 and a very traditional big who hasn't had a strong season in a while,' the personnel executive said, per Moore."

Capela makes sense for Memphis as either a starter or backup for center Zach Edey, who the Grizzlies selected with their first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft. Edey does have some defensive concerns, so playing Capela in conjunction with him could be a nice way to ease him into thosse responsibilities. However, Memphis is currently a luxury tax team themselves, so they may not be intersted in taking on Capela's contract unless they decline forward Luke Kennard's team option and trade guard Marcus Smart.

I think a deal between the Wizards and Hawks for Capela is far more likely. Washington just drafted forward Alex Sarr, but Sarr can play forward or center. Their cap situation is extremely flexible, so there are a variety of different deals they could construct in order to land Capela. Things are complicated somewhat by their recent acquisition of guard Malcolm Brogdon's salary, but it should not prevent Washington from acquiring Capela.

Hunter's salary make him a difficult acquistion to fit onto a lot of cap sheets, but the Cavaliers were known to have interest in him at last year's trade deadline, per NBA reporter Marc Stein. Back in Janaury, Stein had this to say about a Hunter trade to Cleveland.

"Stein added that Atlanta Hawks' wing De'Andre Hunter is "said to be another name to watch in Cleveland's ongoing search for a 3-and-D upgrade—although absorbing Hunter's contract (which has three seasons and $70 million left on it after this season) makes him a challenging payroll fit (and, frankly, difficult for the Hawks to trade anywhere)."

Acquiring a player of Hunter's salary at the deadline is a tough ask, but the off-season presents a lot more flexibility for teams. The Hawks' priority should be moving Capela because his value will likely decline and two other centers are already on the roster. Hunter's value could still increase with a healthier season and similar counting stats to what he produced this year.

Either way, I would be surprised if all of Capela, Okongwu, Nance Jr. and Hunter were on the Hawks' roster at the conclusion of the off-season. More moves are coming - it just remains to be seen what they are.