Hawks’ GM on Capela: ‘We are excited to add Clint to our young core’

 The Atlanta Hawks have acquired centers Clint Capela and Nene from the Houston Rockets in a four-team trade involving 12 players, it was announced on Wednesday. As part of the exchange, the Hawks traded guard/forward Evan Turner and a conditional future first round pick (acquired from Brooklyn on July 6, 2019) to the Minnesota Timberwolves and sent a 2024 second round pick (acquired from Golden State on June 20, 2019) to the Houston Rockets.

The Timberwolves also acquire Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomez and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Denver Nuggets while Houston will receive Jordan Bell and Robert Covington from the Timberwolves. The Nuggets receive Keita Bates-Diop, Noah Vonleh and Shabazz Napier from Minnesota and Gerald Green and a 2020 first-round pick from Houston.

Capela, originally selected 25^th overall by the Rockets in the 2014 NBA Draft, has averaged 12.2 points on .634 shooting, 9.7 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 26.0 minutes per game over his 334 career games (274 starts). In 39 games (all starts) this season, the 6-foot-10, 240-pound center is averaging 13.9 points on .629 shooting (4^th in the NBA), 13.8 rebounds (4^th in the NBA) and 1.9 blocks (7^th in the NBA) in 32.8 minutes per game. A native of Switzerland, Capela currently ranks 10^th in the NBA with 27 double-doubles, including four double-doubles of at least 20 points and 20 rebounds.

“We are excited to add Clint to our young core. He fills a need for us inside with his ability to protect the rim and rebound at an elite level and offensively, he gives our group another strong finisher and roll man,” said President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Travis Schlenk.

The five-year veteran has played in 61 playoff games (39 starts) with averages of 8.3 points on .606 shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 21.4 minutes per game. During the 2018-19 season, Capela, 25, ranked second in the NBA in field goal percentage (.648) and became just the third different player in NBA history to have shot at least .640 from the field while averaging at least 16.0 points per game in a single season joining Wilt Chamberlain and Artis Gilmore. He will wear jersey No. 17.

Capela’s size is something the Hawks could use, and while this season is pretty much over for Atlanta, the Hawks continue to build their core for the future and beyond.