With no real franchise-changing players likely on the move at the trade deadline — the only All-Star available is Domantas Sabonis — attention has turned to the best players available to maybe change the fortunes of a team.
John Collins is one of those players. He averages 16.8 points and 7.9 rebounds a game, is shooting 41.4% from 3, can protect the rim, and wants out of Atlanta. The asking price to get him is not as high as one might expect in a seller’s market, reports Jake Fischer at Bleacher Report.One team contacted by Atlanta regarding Collins told Bleacher Report the Hawks were only seeking a valuable first-round pick and a starting-caliber player in exchange for the talented young forward. Other teams believe the Hawks could draw an even higher return.
There has been interest in Collins, who is in the first year of a five-year, $125 million contract he signed last offseason.
He has been part of talks the 76ers have had with the Pistons about Jerami Grant, Fischer reports. Collins has been part of the Hawks talks with the 76ers about Ben Simmons (but the 76ers also want multiple first-round picks, likely killing that deal), Dallas has shown interest, and there has been talk of Collins to the Spurs (Fischer says Derrick White could be part of that deal).
Atlanta has also won five games in a row and looks like a team figuring it out, a team that could make a second-half run into the play-in tournament, and from there maybe the playoffs. If the Hawks are finding momentum, would Hawks head man Travis Schlenk mess with things now or wait until the summer to find a trade he likes?
The price may not seem high, but as much as he wants out Collins may have to wait until after the season for that to happen.
