John Collins is getting the Cam Reddish treatment with trade rumors

The Atlanta Hawks (26-28) just won big over a trade-ravaged Indiana Pacers team 133-112 to snap a two-game skid and keep themselves within striking distance of the sixth seed (five games) and ahead of the Washington Wizards for the last spot in the play-in tournament. Of course, the goal is to get that sixth seed and avoid the play-in altogether.

Fifth-year forward John Collins has played a major part in the Hawks turnaround efforts of late and has really started to grow into his role.

Collins had 20 points in fewer than 21 minutes against the Pacers shooting 64.3 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from three. It was his third 20-point outing in a row and would have been his fourth but he had 19 points against the Suns.

So why is Collins still being bandied about in trade rumors?

Constant trade rumors haven’t stopped John Collins’ stellar play for the Atlanta Hawks

Wizards beat writer, Quinton Mayo, wrote on his Substack that his sources say Washington and Atlanta have had “numerous conversations” regarding the “disgruntled” forward. Much of the swirling of the trade winds has to do with Collins acknowledging he was a bit frustrated with his role on offense.

To be clear, he wanted a more defined role as opposed to a flat-out increased presence in the game plan.

He’s gotten that as his usage rate went from 19.7 percent before he spoke out to 21.9 percent after. It has jumped to 24.8 percent over those last seven games and 26.6 percent over the last three contests.

Over the last seven games, Collins is averaging 18.7 points and 9.1 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 1.1 blocks while shooting 56.3 percent from the floor but just 29.2 percent from deep. Well, over the last four games, those numbers have jumped to 21.0 points and 9.3 boards while his three-ball has fallen at a 41.2 percent clip.

The Hawks have gone 2-3 over their last five contests but, outside of a six-point clunker against the Toronto Raptors, you would be hard-pressed to pin those losses on Collins. On the contrary, he has often looked like the only Hawks player that is fully engaged.

Collins has gone on record to make it very clear that he wants to stay with the Hawks as he acknowledges all of the rumors and the impact they can have.

It is worth mentioning that Collins’ usage rate is 0.2 percent higher in losses than wins on the season, a gap that has only grown over their last seven games to a 3.9 percent gap.

It’s unclear what the Hawks would want back in any deal with the Wizards with Bradley Beal on the shelf for the rest of the season following wrist surgery. Previous reports set the Hawks asking price as a first-round pick along with a starting-caliber player. The Hawks have some pieces that might qualify but none that should tip the scales.

The most recent reports coming from the Hawks also suggest that they are unlikely to move Collins at this time. Still, the rumors persist with the Hawks recent losses only serving as fuel to the “they need a shakeup” fire.

Reddish was constantly the subject of trade rumors long before it was made public he had requested a trade.

By all accounts, he handled it as professionally as anyone could have asked. But the constant bombardment of questions undoubtedly became old as we often got standard-issue refrains regarding needing everyone to buy in and accept their role. In that regard, it’s easy to see why many see this pointing to a similar endgame.

However, Collins’ reassertion that Atlanta is where he wants to be whereas Reddish’s request came over the summer and we hardly heard anything from him before he was dealt. That is the biggest difference, along with the report that he will likely remain with the Hawks.