Clint Capela signs 2-year, $46 million extension with Atlanta Hawks

Clint Capela in action for the Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks have signed starting center Clint Capela to a two-year contract extension. The new contract is worth $46 million and will keep Capela with the Hawks until the 2024-25 season. Capela had signed a five-year $90 million contract in 2018 when he was still with the Houston Rockets.

Clint Capela was the 25th overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. The Swiss native played six seasons with the Houston Rockets before he was traded to the Atlanta Hawks as part of a four-team trade in February 2020. In his six seasons with the Rockets, Capela averaged 12.7 ppg and 10.4 rpg. He also led the league in field-goal shooting (65.2%) in the 2017-18 regular season.

Capela was also one of the key players on the Rockets roster that reached the 2018 Conference Finals and lost to the Golden State Warriors in seven games.

Clint Capela's journey with the Atlanta Hawks

Clint Capela started each of his 63 games with the Hawks in the 2020-21 season. He led the league in rebounding (14.3 rpg) while also playing a key role in helping the Hawks make the Eastern Conference Finals. In his debut season with Atlanta, Clint Capela averaged 15.2 ppg and 2.0 bpg in the regular season.

The Hawks will be happy with the extension they signed with Capela. They now have a formidable trio of All-Star guard Trae Young and forward John Collins, both of whom also recently signed contract extensions with Atlanta. Young’s contract extension is for a reported $207 million amount, stretching over five years. It will kick in from the 2022-23 season.

John Collins, meanwhile, agreed to a five-year, $125 million deal a few days after the Young deal was done by the Hawks. Collins, a 19th overall pick from the 2017 Draft, averages 16.6 ppg and 8.4 rpg for the Hawks while shooting 38.0% from downtown.

All three deals, the most recent one with Capela and the two earlier ones with Young and Collins, should make Atlanta a regular playoff threat in coming years. The trio, led by Young, already displayed their playoff chops by upstaging the higher-ranked New York Knicks (4) and Philadelphia 76ers (1) in the first two rounds of the 2021 NBA postseason. They eventually lost to the Milwaukee Bucks in six games in the East Finals.

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