On Monday, forward John Collins was traded from the Atlanta Hawks to the Utah Jazz.
After what seemed like years of Collins trade rumors occurring every trade deadline and offseason, the Hawks have finally traded him.
Utah Jazz- A-
Incoming Assets- John Collins
Acquiring Collins for a role player and second-round pick is a great trade for the Jazz.
Although Collins has seen a decline in most of his stats through the years, you have to consider how the Hawks have been building their roster around Trae Young instead of Collins.
Thus, Collins’ role slowly diminished yearly as the Hawks added talent to their team, such as Clint Capela and Dejoutne Murray. In the 2019-20 NBA season, when Collins recorded his highest usage rate, he averaged 19.5 points and 9.8 rebounds while shooting 56% from the field.
This past season, where Collins averaged his lowest usage rate, he averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and had a career-low field goal percentage of 50.8%. If you adjust his usage rate from this season to match his highest usage rate, he would have averaged 18.2 points and nine rebounds this year.
While buying low on Collins is an excellent trade for the Jazz, it brings a couple of things into question.
First, this bumps their rookie, Taylor Hendricks, out of the starting lineup for next year. While Hendricks wasn’t a top-three pick in the draft, he still has the potential to start on various NBA teams.
However, considering this trade occurred just four days after the NBA draft, you have to wonder if the Jazz have other plans for Hendricks. Consequently, the potential for the Jazz to flip Hendricks is undoubtedly on the table. Especially when you consider Collins fits more of the “win-now” roster, the Jazz seem to be building around Lauri Markkannen.
Between all of the picks they received in the Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert trades and drafting Hendricks in the draft, the Jazz are certainly in the heat of the buyer’s market now. Expect the Jazz to be aggressive going after veteran guards that can take them to the next level.
Atlanta Hawks- D
Incoming Assets- Rudy Gay, future second-round pick
It’s not surprising that Atlanta was looking to dump a player this off-season. It was reported throughout the season that the team did not want to exceed the luxury tax, and the player dump to clear that luxury tax has finally arrived in Collins.
Although Collin’s role has diminished on the Hawks, it doesn’t make sense to trade him. The Hawks need to improve their team to go deeper in the playoffs more consistently, and dumping a player to save cap space is not the answer to that problem.
While the Hawks have a solid amount of wings that deserve playing time in the NBA, this trade questions who will likely start at the power forward position next season.
The first option would be Onyeka Okongwu. Although Okongwu can’t stretch the floor like a modern NBA forward and is definitely more suitable as a center, he still possesses the body and athleticism to serve at the four.
Next, there’s Saddiq Bey, the forward the Hawks traded for at the trade deadline this past season. Bey is the yin to Okongwu’s yang in terms of play style. Bey has a much more developed offensive game but lacks the height, defense and rebounding abilities Okongwu has.
Eventually, the Hawks owner, Tony Ressler, will have to realize that teams, for the most part, that plan to contend exceed the luxury tax limit, a limit Ressler has problems with going over. It’s important to note that 15 of the past 20 NBA champions have exceeded the luxury tax. Proving that there is a correlation between spending money and winning championships.
To conclude, the Jazz improved their roster and gave up the lowest price imaginable for a high-upside player. On the other hand, the Hawks gave up that high-upside player for barely anything. They could eventually regret this trade in the near future.
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