Everyone is wondering what the Atlanta Hawks are going to do next. It seems like the Trae Young-led version of their team has run its course. Some Hawks news and rumors have the team completely changing directions by trading Young and building around Jalen Johnson, Zaccharie Risacher, and other pieces. One way for this to happen is to make room for the young guys to take over more responsibility. One recent piece of Hawks free agency news is in line with this philosophy.
Jake Fischer of “The Stein Line” dropped a little nugget about some of the Hawks’ free agency plans.
“Rival teams have projected the Hawks as targeting big men with whatever draft slots they ultimately operate from. After years of dangling Clint Capela on the trade block, Capela is finally expected to depart Atlanta via free agency this season, sources say. So the Hawks appear poised to have an opening for a center.”
Losing Capela in free agency is not a bad thing for the Hawks. Onyeka Okongwu has been showing over the last few years that he is ready to take over full-time center duties. He played a lot more than Capela did last season, but Capela still averaged over 20 minutes a game.
Now, if this Hawks free agency news about Capela is true, there are more minutes for Okongwu.
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Okongwu had career highs in points, rebounds, and assists last season. He is still under 25 years old and has been showing constant improvement. This shows that Okongwu is the Hawks’ center of the future.
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