The Atlanta Hawks and John Collins finally came to a contract agreement last summer. For a lot of Hawks fans, it was an offseason too late but Collins bet on himself and managed to score himself a five-year, $125.0 million deal, back with the team who drafted him four seasons ago.
Collins is vital to the success of the franchise. Yes, there were times throughout last season that Collins went missing and the Hawks suffered. However, Collins has a lot to live up to, he believed himself to be a max player. Despite the value being just under the max, Collins has to show that he is worth the money.
As the NBA world is aware, it is one thing to ask for the bag, it is another to produce night in and night out. The Hawks also recognize this as they gave Trae Young everything they could, including offering the incentives in his deal. Still, Collins is one of the best players to come out of the 2017 NBA draft. Let’s take a look at the top 10 players of his draft class and where Collins sits.
Atlanta Hawks redrafting 2017 top 10) The No.1 pick slips down to No. 10
The really unfortunate thing for Markelle Fultz is that his body has let him down during his time in the league. Taken with the first overall pick by the Philadelphia 76ers, Fultz has had one season where he played more than 70 games and that was during the COVID-19 season.
He also appeared to have the mental yips when it came to his shot when he was playing with the 76ers. To be fair to Fultz he was meant to be the third star alongside Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid and the pressure that is on players after the process took its course was incredible.