Brad Stevens and the Boston Celtics have worked mercifully to ease their once-strenuous financial burden. First, Boston shed 35-year-old Jrue Holiday's remaining $104 million by acquiring former Portland Trail Blazer Anfernee Simons, under contract for one more season at roughly $28 million.
Next, Boston engaged in a three-team trade, including the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, to send Kristaps Porzingis and his $30 million expiring contract to Atlanta in exchange for Georges Niang and a second-round pick. The consecutive trades have saved the Celtics an unfathomable $180 million in tax penalties.
With the Hawks acquiring Porzingis, it's fair to assume unrestricted free agent Clint Capela is as good as gone. The 31-year-old center saw his playing time decrease as he ceded his starting role in his final season in Atlanta. At long last, in January, the Hawks inserted former sixth-overall pick Onyeka Okongwu into the starting lineup in favor of Capela.
Clint Capela makes for an intriguing free-agent pickup for the Bulls
Okongwu delivered on his promotion, averaging 15.0 points, 10. rebounds, and 2.7 assists while splashing 36.2 percent of his 94 three-point attempts as a starter in 40 such appearances. Prior to coming off the bench, Capela had averaged 9.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 41 contests.
Following his demotion, the former Houston Rocket averaged a steady 7.6 points and 7.3 rebounds in only 17.3 minutes per contest. The writing was on the wall for Caepla as soon as Okongwu came to town. Yet, he continued to hold his starting role and even signed a contract extension, amid the four seasons between Atlanta drafting his successor to now.
However, the Porzingis acquisition will ultimately force Capela to find a new home, which should prompt the Chicago Bulls to lure the veteran big man. While he's slightly past his prime as a 6-foot-10 center who relied on his elite athleticism, there's still plenty of value in adding Capela to a lineup desperate for an interior presence.
In five seasons in Atlanta, Capela totaled 460 blocks and 706 dunks. Even in his final season with the Hawks, he averaged 1.0 blocks and 1.6 dunks per contest. The Swiss big man is the ideal rim-running, rebounding, shot-blocking presence the Bulls so desperately need.
Capela has suited up next to elite lob-throwers, James Harden and Trae Young, throughout his entire career. Furthermore, he's been tasked with anchoring shoddy defenses for almost a decade. Capela fits as a picture-perfect pick-and-roll partner for passing savant Josh Giddey, and as a reliable backline defender to help rectify the Bulls' already-lackluster perimeter defense.
After earning $45 million over the last two seasons, Capela will likely settle for the $14.1 million non-tax midlevel exception. Not every team can offer such an amount, giving the Bulls an upper hand. Although a center isn't an immediate need to fill, considering Chicago already rosters Nikola Vucevic, Zach Collins, and Jalen Smith, Capela's archetype is worth splurging on.
Perhaps if the $14.1 million non-tax midlevel exception is too steep for the 31-year-old big, the Bulls also have the $5.1 million biannual exception at their disposal. Moreover, Capela will be an ever-enticing free agent target if Chicago adds a forward in the first round of the NBA Draft, such as Collin Murray-Boyles or Noa Essengue.