While we’ve already spoken about the Mavericks hitting a home run on draft night, the roster is still coming together.
Since the draft, Dallas made a move to bring in Grant Williams in a three-team deal that sent out Reggie Bullock to the San Antonio Spurs.
Williams will provide Dallas with much-needed help on the defensive end, along with a reliable three-point shot nearing 40%.
While a handful of transactions have happened across the league, the offseason is far from over. Dallas is still reportedly in pursuit of a veteran starting center.
Marc Stein has continually emphasized that Javale McGee will not be on the roster at the start of the season. The ideal scenario would be to include McGee in a trade for a starting caliber center; however, it is possible that Dallas will have to stretch and wave McGee’s contract.
A player of interest in the trade market that has been previously pursued is Atlanta Hawks’ big man, Clint Capela.
Dallas reportedly engaged in trade talks with Atlanta; however, those talks stalled with Atlanta asking for Josh Green or Jaden Hardy. The Mavericks have been reluctant to include either of these young players, despite Green and Hardy being players of interest.
This offseason, Atlanta sent John Collins to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick. The rumored asking price for Collins was initially three first-round picks, with hopes of a similar haul Utah received for Donovan Mitchell/Rudy Gobert. Ultimately, the Hawks walked away with much less in the Collins deal, and I anticipate the Capela asking price to drop in a similar fashion.
Another reason Capela’s stock may drop is Atlanta’s affinity toward the younger Onyeka Okongwu. Moving off of Capela will open up more minutes to throw toward Okongwu, whom they view as their long-term big.
Clint Capela would bring exactly what the Mavericks need at the center position. He is a player that can roll to the rim while being fed by Doncic/Irving.
On the defensive end, he will provide the shot-blocking that Dallas has been seeking for multiple seasons at this point.
There’s no doubt that the Mavericks could and should still have interest, but we will see if Atlanta will budge on their value of Capela.
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