Blockbuster three-team trade proposal sees Hawks land Kyle Kuzma and Capela to Wizards

Yesterday, Action Network’s Matt Moore reported that several teams were interested in trading for Clint Capela. One of those teams is apparently the Washington Wizards.

From Moore’s column:

Clint Capela is a popular trade target, with the Grizzlies, Wizards, Pelicans and Bulls showing interest. »

While previous trade proposals had sent Capela and picks to the Wizards in exchange for Deni Avdjia, the Wizards might prefer to hang on to him. He finished sixth in voting for the Most Improved Player Award, as he averaged a career-high 14.7 pts, 7.2 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 50/50 shooting times. 37/74. He’s been particularly good after the All-Star break and the Wizards could view him as Bilal Coulibaly’s long-term partner on the court.

However, Avdija isn’t the only Wizards player who should draw interest from playoff hopefuls or contenders. Two of their other forwards, Kyle Kuzma and Corey Kispert, have skills that could fit into a playoff basketball setting. Kuzma is more of a known entity, considering he was a rotation player during the Lakers’ 2020 championship run. His defensive effort isn’t quite where it was in 2020, but he’s taken on more of a scoring role for Washington. He averaged 22 points last year on a 54.7% true shooting percentage, while dishing out 3.8 dimes and grabbing 7 rebounds per game. Kispert is more of a bench scorer, but he still averaged a career-high 13.4 points, 2.0 assists and 2.8 rebounds. The appealing elements of his profile are his 38.3% shooting percentage from three on an impressive six attempts per game and his 90th percentile as a finisher around the rim.

Capela’s fit with the Wizards from a basketball perspective is somewhat murky. As previously noted, the Wizards’ interest in Capela is confusing because they are in the middle of a rebuild. Capela would bring a defensive presence that current center Marvin Bagley III lacks, but the real reason for their interest could be a contract. Capela’s contract could give them options and will expire at the end of this year, meaning it won’t be a long-term commitment and won’t hinder the Wizards in any future moves.

While getting both Kuzma and Kispert doesn’t make much sense for Atlanta, a three-team trade involving the Dallas Mavericks could fill a need for everyone. Fresh off their 4-1 loss to the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Finals, the Mavericks should look for every avenue to improve the pieces around Luka Doncic. Unfortunately, they are currently somewhat limited by their cap space.

Details of the proposed three-team trade are below. It should be noted that this is simply a fun, speculative exercise to see what types of moves can be made, not what I think a team should absolutely do. That’s all.

Falcons get: Kyle Kuzma

Mavericks get: Corey Kispert

Washington gets: Clint Capela, Tim Hardaway Jr, 2025 second-round pick (via Minnesota), 2025 second-round pick (via Toronto), 2028 second-round pick (via Miami) and a 2029 first-round pick (top-12 ). protected)

The upside of this deal for Atlanta is that Kuzma fits the roster whether they move forward (Sarr, Risacher) or go to center (Clingan) at the top of the draft. If they select Clingan and make this deal, his path to minutes is cleared by removing Capela. Their attackers would then be Johnson, Kuzma, Hunter, Griffin and Bogdanovic. This is a group that gives Atlanta plenty of lineup options to throw at their opponents. Selecting Risacher or Sarr and then making this trade would allow Onyeka Okongwu to move into the starting center role.

Starting Kuzma and Johnson together should work well as Kuzma has shown the ability to play good defense in past seasons. I doubt he’ll be a defensive liability for a playoff contender like the Hawks would be. The only concern is that Kuzma is something of a ball stopper – he held the ball for 3.32 seconds per touch last season. For comparison, Julius Randle and Tobias Harris (both of whom have reputations as ball stoppers) held the ball for 3.15 and 3.2 seconds respectively. However, in a reduced role I wouldn’t expect this to be much of an issue.

For the Mavericks, they can trade Tim Hardaway Jr. for Corey Kispert. Kispert fills the same role as a floor spacer as Hardaway while being younger and less expensive. Overall, Hardaway has been largely ineffective in the postseason (outside of Game 4 of the Finals). Kispert isn’t an amazing defender, but he’s taller and has more athletic power than Hardaway at this point in his career. He could end up being a long-term part of the Mavericks’ rotation if he continues to develop.

Washington gets picks for salary dumping from Hardaway and Capela’s contract. Barring a rebuild by the Hawks, there’s a good chance the pick will be moved to Washington and they can use the second rounds to move up on prospects they’re interested in. Capela and Hardaway both hit free agency after this season, so there are no long-term cap consequences to putting them on their books.

Maybe Washington would say no to the trade because they value Kispert as more than two second-rounders and Kuzma as worth more than two second-rounders and a first. There’s a chance Atlanta isn’t interested in Kuzma due to his poor efficiency and lack of defensive effort last season. However, I think this move makes sense for all three teams because it fits their schedule. The Wizards want picks to use in their rebuild, the Mavericks want to improve the pieces around Luka without taking on more money and the Hawks want to get back to the playoffs in a relatively open Eastern Conference (assuming they don’t trade Trae Young).

Whether this trade happens or not, I would expect the Hawks to be involved in plenty of trade talks this offseason. The draft is a week away and the buzz continues to grow. The moves have already been announced as teams talk to their own free agents. An action-packed summer could be on the horizon.