NBA Trade Rumors: Bold Pascal Siakam blockbuster trade idea to reshape NBA

The Dallas Mavericks add Clint Capela

Even after remaking their center position this offseason (drafting Dereck Lively II and trading for Richaun Holmes), Capela would immediately be the Dallas Maverick’s best current center and would help them in their hopes of winning now alongside Luka Doncic and a recently re-signed Kyrie Irving.

Dallas had a major hole in the frontcourt last season, and it was one of the main reasons the team disappointingly went 38-44 and missed the playoffs. The Mavs also struggled defensively, especially after their midseason addition of Kyrie Irving. Both of those issues can be alleviated by adding Capela. Capela is one of the more underrated centers in the league in my opinion. The 29-year-old big man averaged 12 points and 11 rebounds per game this past year on 65.3% shooting.

Having Capela on the roster would also probably be a major help in the development of Lively (somewhat similar to the role Capela played with Okongwu in Atlanta). While Lively might be an NBA-ready rim protector, he is more of a project player that could take a couple of seasons to get his legs under him. Capela would give Dallas help in the short-term at center, but can also help Lively develop as a rebounder and in the PnR. I could see Capela serving as the Mavs starting center for the next two seasons (two years left on his contract), and then Lively taking over as the starting 5 heading into the 2025 season.

As with Trae Young, Capela feels like the perfect center to pair with Luka Doncic. He can anchor the team defensively and does not need the ball in his hand to be a scoring threat (a strong dunker and P&R player). Capela is also a very strong offensive rebounder. While Capela is not a high-scoring center who can dazzle you with his back-to-the-basket post moves, he does not really need to be that in Dallas who already has Luka and Kyrie as their primary playmakers.

While losing Green and THJ will hurt the Mavericks’ wing depth (which will need to be addressed elsewhere if this trade happens), adding Clint Capela gives the Mavericks a better chance at winning this season (which I believe is at the forefront of Dallas’ minds at this point as they try to keep Luka happy) in my opinion.

Up to this point, Dallas has seemingly been more willing to part with THJ this offseason than they have been with Green. That seems to be where the big debate on this trade would come for Dallas. Are they willing to include Green to get Capela? Losing Green would take a big chunk out of their young core. However, Dallas seems to be in more of a win-now mode at this point.

While this trade is not guaranteed to work for any of the teams involved, much less all of them, I think it is a trade that could happen and at least makes some sense for all three teams involved.