The Atlanta Hawks need to be active on the trade market as they are at great risk of losing John Collins for nothing in the coming offseason. Collins took a gamble on himself prior to this season starting by not signing his rookie max extension.
While they still have a chance to match the offer of any team, Collins is likely to command a sizable portion of the salary cap of any team that is interested in him. He has shown that he is worth it due to the way he has playing.
When the Hawks have been smart is they got his replacement in the starting lineup when they traded with the OKC Thunder for Danilo Gallinari. The fact they are paying him $20 million to come off the bench does not make sense unless they planned on life without Collins
Atlanta Hawks trade proposal for the OKC Thunder
The Hawks get veteran George Hill as well as two promising young stars in Darius Bazley and Isaiah Roby. In return, the Thunder gets John Collins and Rajon Rondo. While this may appear to be a risk for the Thunder, there is a massive potential reward in this trade.
Contractually, Collins is the risk for the Thunder due to his free agency. Other than that, there is very little for either team to be concerned about. Now, let’s look at why each team would consider this deal.