Hawks part ways with Chandler Parsons, set stage to complete Capela trade

Travis Schlenk and the Atlanta Hawks landed a big fish on Tuesday evening, coming to an reported agreement on a four-team deal that would bring Houston Rockets center Clint Capela to Atlanta. Though the deal wasn’t a surprise by the time it arrived, the Hawks were able to secure Capela without overpaying from an asset perspective, sending out only Evan Turner (for salary matching), a 2024 second-round pick and the rights to a 2020 first-round pick from the Brooklyn Nets. However, Atlanta hasn’t officially announced the transaction, in part due to a roster issue.

With that as the backdrop, word broke on Wednesday that the Hawks were parting ways with Chandler Parsons.

Later on Wednesday, the Hawks officially announced that Parsons was placed on waivers.

Within the reported four-team mega-trade, the Hawks are sending out only one player (Turner), but they are acquiring two, with Nene Hilario joining Capela. All logic dictates that Nene — owed a base salary of approximately $2.5 million — will be waived shortly after the deal is completed but, in the meantime, the Hawks needed to create roster space because Atlanta isn’t allowed, by NBA rules, to exceed 15 players on its roster.

That explains the process behind the timing on the Parsons maneuver. Given that the Hawks seemingly made their “big splash” with Capela, Parsons was the most logical candidate to waive — in part because of his inability to play due to injury — and the Hawks can reassess the roster moving forward.

Stay tuned.