What the latest John Collins trade rumor says about the Atlanta Hawks
The Atlanta Hawks are a team seemingly stuck in NBA purgatory. It is not as though they are a bad team. In fact, when they are healthy they are a good enough team to make the playoffs and are certainly not bad enough to qualify for the draft lottery.
After going all-in on talent retention last summer they slipped back down the Eastern Conference standings. The flow-on effect of that is that the front office are going to look to make some changes in order to get back to the top of the Eastern Conference.
The latest John Collins trade rumor is the most concerning as to where the Hawks see themselves at in terms of their ability to land a star in order to contend for the NBA championship. In fact, it spotlights the question of whether the Hawks are even able to contend in the coming years.
Why the Atlanta Hawks would trade John Collins for a lottery pick
Collins is a borderline star who, when he is at his aggressive best is impossible to stop in the Hawks system. Unfortunately for Collins and the Hawks he is not aggressive enough often enough. In fact his usage dropped to its lowest level since his rookie days.
So while it may seem natural to trade Collins given his lack of assertiveness and therefore production, this shows where the Hawks are at. Their salary cap situation means that they are unable to sign a star outright and they are going to be very unlikely to be able to trade for one without gutting their team.
As discussed in a precious article, the Hawks are likely to trade with a team like the Sacramento Kings in order to get high into the lottery. This would still involve taking some money back from the Kings which they could then flip those assets. This is all a long shot to secure a star as teams are trying to get a good return for their top talent.
This means that the Hawks are looking to draft their next star. The problem with this is that it does not matter how good you are in college, it takes time to get to the level of an NBA star. There are not many players who can make that leap in their first few seasons.
This means that the Hawks, unless they make a number of shrewd trades over the coming years could be three or four years off contending. This may be a bitter pill to swallow but as a unit they may be able to use this as motivation.
Next. Potential trade for former second round pick. dark
Hopefully this will see Atlanta Hawks back at the top of the NBA sooner which is where they belong.