The Atlanta Hawks could be interested in a lottery pick in exchange for athletic big man, John Collins. Collins has been in the rumor mill since before last season and the buzz has continued this offseason. Hawks CEO Steve Koonin echoed the sentiments of governor Tony Ressler and general manager Travis Schlenk in expecting the Hawks to be players this offseason.
None of them have put an exact number on how much turnover well will see at a minimum. But The Athletic’s Chris Kirschner considers (subscription required) the former 19th overall pick in 2017 the likeliest to be dealt away this summer.
Atlanta has had talks with the Portland Trail Blazers around the seventh-overall pick, per The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor.
They might have a shot at the fourth overall pick.
The Atlanta Hawks could turn their longest-tenured player into a top-5 pick
Atlanta just signed Collins to a five-year $125 million deal last offseason. But concerns over his role made headlines throughout the season. Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer reported on “The Athletic NBA Show” that negotiations got fairly contentious with Collins’ side urging the Hawks to seek a trade for their client.
He also mentioned Collins in a package to acquire Rudy Gobert – one of the many that we have seen this offseason – and connected the Hawks to Deandre Ayton.
We have seen those proposals before as well.
But, later in that same podcast, Sacramento Kings beat reporter, Brenden Nunes, mentioned Collins in a package for the fourth-overall pick. Koonin shot down taking back the seventh-overall pick (mostly over a financial strawman).
Would the fourth-overall pick and, say, Jaden Ivey suffice?
O’Connor reported that the Kings are interested in trading the selection in exchange for a player that better fits their timeline.
Nunes was asked for some scenarios that he would consider with Ivey looking like the likely best player available when Sacramento comes on the clock. While he thought that Ivey would work with the Kings’ current personnel, he is intrigued by adding Collins.
The Kings would have to add some money to the deal. But it can work. Would they sacrifice Harrison Barnes, one of their few pro-level players, per Nunes, as well as reserve forward Maurice Harkless to acquire Collins?
We reported on a similar scenario presented by the New York Daily News’ Kristian Winfield suggesting the Kings could explore a Collins-for-No. 4 swap.
Now, it appears there could be some interest on all sides in making this type of transaction work.
How it will be received is another story entirely with some looking at what this could mean for the team’s outlook. The message behind the mantra of looming changes was to take a leap forward.
Not everyone sees trading for a rookie that way.
i will be keeping mike's energy here if the hawks trade john collins for a lottery pick
— Brad Rowland (@BTRowland) June 13, 2022
everyone will focus on the value proposition
i will do that... and also point to the flashing "we don't want to pay the luxury tax" red light https://t.co/cFnBFstwxF
Others feel like Collins is being underappreciated with all the talk of moving him for a draft pick, albeit one near the top of the lottery.
Fans have literally no idea how good John Collins is haha he is really fucking good and if he didn’t have to play next to a paint clogger in Capela he’d be on his 4th straight almost 20/10 seasons with 38% from deep on 3+ attempts a game. 80% FT shooter too and improved defender.
— Simon Rath (@HawksDraftNerd) June 13, 2022
He is coming off of a season in which he was one of just seven players to average at least 16.0 points and 7.0 rebounds while shooting 36.0% or better from three.
Whether it’s for Ayton, Gobert, or a draft pick, it appears Collins’ exit from Atlanta is imminent if a serious facelift is in the cards. He was named their best trade chip and has come back every season with something new to his game.
He has also dealt with injuries in his five seasons, failing to appear in 60 games in two of the past three seasons and only once cracking the 70-game mark.
The bigger deal will be what this means about the team trying to compete, though, the Hawks went 18-11 without him in the lineup last season. Still, when the talk has been about acquiring another star, bringing in a rookie seems very antithetical. Especially at fourth-overall (as opposed to first or even second) and with head coach Nate McMillan’s track record with rookies.