According to Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report, it is none other than John Collins who is most likely to be traded prior to the 2022 NBA draft. To anyone who follows the Atlanta Hawks, there have been more rumors about Collins in the last two seasons than almost any other player in the league.
The reason for this was that the Hawks and Collins were unable to agree on his rookie extension which led to the NBA rumor mill starting. Then, after the two parties agreed to a deal in the offseason it appeared that everything was all good in the state of Georgia. However, then the Hawks just had such a bad season, and the noise started again.
Collins was paid the bag and despite finding his niche and settling into it, he has not developed into the star needed to help Trae Young take the Hawks to the next level. Swartz has suggested a trade with the Indiana Pacers, let’s check that out.
Should the Atlanta Hawks make a draft-day trade involving John Collins?
The Hawks would send out Collins and the 16th pick to the Indiana Pacers. In return, they would receive the sixth pick, T.J. McConnell, and Isaiah Jackson. This trade makes sense on a lot of levels for both teams.
For the Pacers, they get a quality frontcourt partner for Myles Turner with Collins helping to speed up their rebuild. While they lose their No. 6 pick, they are still able to add a decent player with the 16th pick. They have a chance to improve their roster on multiple levels just a season into their rebuild.
The Hawks get their opportunity to move up the draft which is where all the noise has been for this offseason so far. They would be able to target a player like Dyson Daniels with this pick, meaning that they can improve their defense with one move.
On top of that, they get a solid power forward in Jackson who is entering his second season in the NBA. The other part of this deal is the heart-and-soul point guard McConnell. When the Hawks were struggling with Trae Young on the bench, a player like McConnell would have been a tremendous addition.
Unfortunately, like Clint Capela, his contract extension made him ineligible for trade until this offseason. Now that the Hawks could get him, he could solve a large number of issues for the franchise.
This would also give the Atlanta Hawks a level of salary cap relief with both players coming back to the Hawks due just over $10.0 million. This would save the Hawks $15.0 million which would allow them to work on signing the best talent available to them.