The Atlanta Hawks have 13 games left in the regular season, and they could play all of them without now-backup center Clint Capela.
Capela missed the Hawks’ last three outings – during which they have gone 1-2 – while dealing with what the team called “family reasons.” He had missed nine straight games leading up to and through the trade deadline with back spasms and then “personal reasons.”
He averaged 6.4 points and 6.4 rebounds over his last 10 appearances.
“Following an MRI at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex on Mar. 17, center Clint Capela has been diagnosed with a ligament injury in the fourth metacarpal of his left hand,” the Hawks announced on X on March 21. “Capela will undergo rehabilitation and will be re-evaluated in approximately three-to-four weeks. His status will be updated as appropriate.”
Capela’s “personal reasons coincided with speculation about his future with the Hawks. He is in the final year of a two-year, $46 million contract.
The Hawks parted with former stalwarts Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter instead.
The Hawks also removed Capela from the starting lineup, replacing him with Onyeka Okongwu in January. That move seemingly preceded an imminent split. But the Hawks reportedly refrained from including Capela – or Okongwu – in their dealings before the trade deadline.
Clint Capela may have played last game for Hawks
That 10-game stretch was Capela’s first action since the trade deadline. Since his projected timeline if for reevaluation, his earliest return date would be after April 11.
The Hawks play the Philadelphia 76ers in the second-to-last game of the season that day.
Getting Capela back for a postseason run would be good for the Hawks, who much first get there while being thin in the frontcourt without Jalen Johnson and Larry Nance Jr., and now their second longest-tenured Hawk behind Trae Young.
The Hawks will close out the regular season against the Orlando Magic in a game that could determine homecourt advantage in the first round of the Play-In Tournament.
If the Hawks somehow miss the Play-In or the playoffs, Capela’s tenure may have already ended.
