Hawks starving for picks after blockbuster for Murray. Capela trade?

Let’s see what the Minnesota Timberwolves are made of. Does the team view today’s news as a setback or a new opportunity? We’ll soon know which.

The Minnesota Timberwolves wanted to acquire San Antonio Spurs star point guard Dejounte Murray. But they were not alone. The New York Knicks did as well. But the team that won the bidding wars, the Atlanta Hawks, set their sights on the biggest player in the NBA rumored to be on the move this off-season, sending three first-round picks and a future first-round pick swap to the for Spurs PG Murray.  That move gives the Atlanta Hawks arguably the best backcourt in the NBA.

But that is only part of the reason why we are mentioning that here. You see, the Minnesota Timberwolves were also rumored to be in the hunt for Spurs Dejounte Murray, but we learned recently that the minimum bid for Murray escalated from three to four first-round picks. That inflated price likely ushered the Timberwolves out of the active bidders for Murray.

But the Timberwolves may still benefit from today’s news. You see, the Minnesota Timberwolves have also been linked to Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela. With today’s trade news, the Hawks have decimated four of their next five NBA Drafts, and right now are starving for draft picks, desperate to restock their cupboards with assets.

The stage is set for the Minnesota Timberwolves to place a call and inquire what the Atlanta Hawks want for center Clint Capela. Why? Well, as we had hinted at in a previous article, the Hawks may have been okay trading so many picks to the Spurs if they knew that they had the means to replace a pick with a follow-up trade.

Now, the Timberwolves can be that other shoe that drops, helping themselves to a solid starting center in Clint Capela, and putting the Hawks’ future in a more enviable position. The first shots have been first as NBA teams scramble to reset their respective rosters.