4-player proposed trade sees Warriors add size in form of previous playoff rival

Despite their lack of front court size being regarded as an area of weakness over the past few seasons, the Golden State Warriors clearly don't feel the same way given their failure to address the issue over the summer.

The Warriors actually lost their tallest player -- 6'10" big man Dario Saric -- in free agency, while their additions centered around the wing positions and 6'9" forward Kyle Anderson. They did draft seven-foot center Quinten Post with the 52nd overall pick, but the 24-year-old is likely to be on a two-way contract and is projected to spend significant time in the G League next season.

A recent four-player trade proposal has the Golden State Warriors landing veteran center Clint Capela from the Atlanta Hawks

After missing out on seven-foot forward Lauri Markkanen at the start of the month, Golden State could still maintain interest in finding a front court upgrade, particularly at center where their options revolve around second-year big Trayce Jackson-Davis, and veteran Kevon Looney who's coming off a disapointing 2023-24 season.

Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report proposed a deal on Monday that would see the Warriors acquire Clint Capela, with Looney, Gary Payton II, Moses Moody and the Hawks own 2026 second-round pick heading the other way to Atlanta.

Golden State are well aware of Capela's strengths and weaknesses, having come up against the 30-year-old in four seperate playoff series between 2015 and 2019 when he was a member of the Houston Rockets.

Capela has been a constant double-double guy across the course of his career, including last season with the Hawks where he averaged 11.5 points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He would be a more proven quantity than either Jackson-Davis or Looney, but that doesn't make this trade necessarily worth it.

The 10-year veteran is set to make $22.3 million on the final year of his deal next season. Capela may be a better player than Jackson-Davis right now, but the latter could still bring 90% of the output for nearly 1/12th of the price. That doesn't seem like great value, particularly when you take into account the trade and giving up a young talent like Moody, your best perimeter defender in Payton, a strong veteran leader in Looney, and a second-round pick.

Golden State have never been a team to financially spend big on the center position during the Steve Kerr coaching era. Why would they start now unless they were getting an offensive star to help relieve the burden from Stephen Curry? Capela is certainly not that player, leaving this as a foolish deal for the Warriors to make.