Option #4: Trade back with the Wizards to No. 2 overall and select Donovan Clingan
This is one look at what the trade could look like.
This move would help the Hawks on a couple of fronts.
1. It moves Capela, which appears to be one of the Hawks' main goals this offseason (especially with a center coming in with the draft pick).
2. They add a proven scorer in Kyle Kuzma.
The Wizards have been flirting with trading Kuzma for a while now (much like with the Hawks and several of their players), and this move does it for them and also gives the Hawks a guy who could be their #2/#3 option this season.
Kuzma averaged 22.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game this past season on 46.3% shooting from the field and 33.6% shooting from three. That is more or less on par with where Kuzma has been for most of his career. He has career averages of 17.3 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game on 45.1% shooting and 33.7% 3-point shooting across 7 seasons.
The Hawks would now have a forward pairing of Kuzma and Jalen Johnson to mix and match with at the 3 and the 4, and then Clingan and Onyeka Okongwu splitting time at the 5.
The contracts for Kuzma and Capela are near-matches in terms of 2024/25 salary. Capela has 1-year, $22.3 million left on his contract. Kuzma meanwhile has 3-years, $64.4 million left on his deal (making $23.5 million in 2024). That would allow the two to be straight swaps along with the picks.
This feels like a win-win-win for all sides. The Hawks move Capela, add a dynamic scoring forward, and a center they really like. The Wizards move Kuzma, add a potential Franchise player in Alex Sarr, and add Capela. And if the reports are true of what Sarr wants, this trade would open up the door for that in the nation's capital for him.
It is also worth noting that this is just one option of the assets attached to the Hawks' move-down from 1 to 2 could look like. The teams could decide to just exchange picks.