The Atlanta Hawks have finally expressed that they are going to listen to offers for John Collins. Months after the two parties failed to come to an agreement for Collins’ contract extension, the Hawks need to start thinking about their future without Collins.
Thanks to multiple trades, Collins probably started to feel a little put-out. First, there was Clint Capela who the Hawks traded for last season. While he did not play a game until this season, the writing was on the wall, here is the Hawks’ starting center and it is not Collins.
On top of that, the Hawks traded for Danilo Gallinari in the offseason who is a much better shooter from deep. His rim-protection is not as good but he is a strong starting power forward. The Hawks also drafted one of the better big men in the draft Onyeka Okongwu
The Atlanta Hawks are asking for a lottery-level pick for John Collins
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The Hawks are looking to get a lottery-level pick for Collins, which, given that Collins is a restricted free agent next season may be a very steep price. The problem for the Hawks is that this draft class is deep and strong.
Any team that is in possession of a lottery-level pick is going to be looking to get a franchise cornerstone-type player who they can work with for a minimum of four years. Collins, if he signs an offer sheet that the team who trades for him can’t match then they are compromising their short-term future.
It feels a little unlikely that the Hawks are going to get what they are asking in return for Collins. If they settle for a first-round pick or a player, or a combination of both then they are more likely to get a decent return for their four-year man out of Wake Forest. We may have to wait until Marck 25th to know what is going to happen.