NBA Trade Block: Could Dallas Mavs Swap Tim Hardaway Jr. for Atlanta Hawks' Clint Capela?

Bleacher Report pitched one player from each NBA team that should be on the trade block, and based on the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks' needs, there could be a match waiting to be made.

When it comes to NBA trades, there is much more speculation than there are actual deals. That's part of what makes that aspect of the league so intriguing, because in a way, that's exactly how NBA front offices work. Trade offers get thrown around left and right, but only a select few actually come to fruition.

For a deal to happen, one team must be able to acquire a player that fills a need while also giving up something that fills a need of another team. Whether he meant to or not, Bleacher Report's Andy Bailey made a logical trade connection between the Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks when writing an article about one player every team should put on the trade block.

"At 29, Clint Capela likely has a few prime years left. If he spends them with Trae Young and the Atlanta Hawks, he'll keep catching lobs and putting up double-doubles," Bailey writes. "But the Hawks have another starting-caliber center in Onyeka Okongwu who's more versatile and almost seven years younger than Capela.

"If a team in need of some size, rebounding and rim protection was willing to send the Hawks a shooter and some draft compensation for Capela, they'd have to consider it."

Dallas Mavericks' Tim Hardaway Jr. goes in for a layup against Atlanta Hawks' Clint Capela :: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

Although the Mavs have a lot of faith in 19-year-old rookie big man Dereck Lively II, who has started for Dallas in every preseason game so far, the team could still use a talented, veteran center like Capela for the upcoming season. Livley has shown that he has all the skill, basketball IQ and physical gifts to potentially be the Mavs' franchise center for the foreseeable future, but adding Capela would help take some pressure off rookie.

If acquiring a shooter and some draft compensation is what it would take to get the Hawks to part ways with Capela, the Mavs have a potential package that could fit perfectly.

"Tim Hardaway Jr., who has a very movable $17.9 million salary for 2023-24, thus looks like one of the more intriguing trade targets for teams in need of shooting or scoring," Bailey writes. "Hardaway has averaged 15.4 points and hit 37.8 percent of his three-point attempts in his four-plus seasons with Dallas. That could be good enough to net the Mavs more defense or size in a trade."

See what we're getting at here? The stars could be aligning for the Mavs to trade Hardaway – and perhaps a second-round pick or two that was acquired in the three-team Grant Williams trade over the offseason – for Capela. The Mavs have a logjam at the shooting guard position with Hardaway, Jaden Hardy, Josh Green and Seth Curry all fighting for minutes. The Hawks have 22-year-old Okongwu, who is ready for his chance to be a starting center once Capela is out of the picture.

Most trade ideas don't come to fruition, but the ones that do often make sense on paper before being finalized. This one makes a lot of sense, and we wouldn't be shocked if the Mavs and Hawks end up discussing this trade idea at some point in the near future.

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