Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins Wants New Deal “Sooner Than Later”

Looking at the Atlanta Hawks’ ability to give John Collins a new deal.

The Atlanta Hawks held their exit interviews via Zoom a few days back and while most of the content was your routine athlete, say-nothing answers, there were a few interesting nuggets, especially when it came to John Collins‘ time.

The high-flying forward was by far the most candid Hawk when it came to his responses and talking points, with a good amount of time spent discussing his upcoming deal.

Collins will soon be eligible for a rookie-scale extension that would give him a small boost next season before fully kicking in the next year. A max deal would net JC 25% of the league’s current cap. Going by last year, a five-year deal would look like Ben Simmons‘ $168.2 million deal and a four-year would be like Pascal Siakam‘s $129.92 deal.

It’s yet to be seen how COVID-19 and the NBA hiatus will affect the cap numbers, but those are good examples of a max deal for now. Other extended players that signed for just under the max were Jaylen Brown ($103 million over four), Buddy Hield ($86 million over four), and fellow power forward Domantas Sabonis signed a four-year, $74.9 million deal with up to $10 million in incentives.

Although Collins was candid about wanting a new deal, he wasn’t stressing the numbers too much and didn’t make public his asking price. He did, however, stress his importance to the team and his perceived value without actually saying what that was: “I feel like I’m definitely putting in a lot of work, showing my value, my worth”

He was also very clear he wanted a deal soon, bringing it up a few times. He was asked if he would want to wait until he hits restricted free agency in a year to get it done and simply replied, “I would always want to get it done now than later…”

Collins insisted that he believes that it can be done before the extension deadline, which is usually in October but could be pushed back along with the draft and free agency. “It’s not really in my control when things are supposed to start, but I am in good hopes and good spirits that we can get it done.”

Collins missed 25 games early on for the Atlanta Hawks after being hit with a league suspension but played at an All-Star level upon returning.

In 41 games, he averaged 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds, and1.6 blocks while shooting 58 percent from the field and 40 percent from three. All of those are career-highs for the third-year power forward who likely would have gotten All-Star and Most Improved Player consideration if he’d played the whole season.

It’s just another part of the Hawks’ off-season to keep an eye on, although with everything being pushed back, he likely won’t be able to sign until October at the earliest if they do get a deal done.

Should the Atlanta Hawks offer John Collins the max extension?