Atlanta Hawks: Grading the season John Collins bet on himself
Atlanta Hawks contract and season grades for John Collins
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Contract Grade
Collins was in his final season of his rookie scale contract, worth just $4.1 million. This was one of the best contracts in the NBA last season given that he averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. Yes these numbers were slightly down from the 2019-20 season, but that is to be expected given the additions to the Hawks squad.
Collins was often the barometer for the Hawks, if he was up and about, then his energy had such a positive impact on the squad. However, when he was passing up the open shots and was not the aggressive Collins that the team needed, the Hawks often struggled.
Contract Grade: A+
Season grade.
It can sometimes be quite difficult to judge a season where a player has so many highs and lows. As mentioned earlier, Collins had 21 games where he scored 20 points or more. He also had seven games where he did not get into double figures.
There was a maturing in Collins game under coach Nate McMillan though. He was given and role and he stuck to it. His raw numbers went down marginally, but his efficiency increased from the floor and from deep. He missed nine games in April and took a bit of time to get back into the swing of things. Without this break, his numbers could have even better.
Season grade: A-