Grade the trade: Atlanta Hawks send John Collins to the Utah Jazz

On the same day the Atlanta Hawks introduced their next generation of players, they sent their longest-tenured player out the door.

“In a deal that delivers the franchise some dramatic financial flexibility, the Atlanta Hawks are trading forward John Collins to the Utah Jazz,” wrote ESPN NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski on June 26. “The Hawks and Jazz have discussed numerous iterations of the deal for over a year.”

Wojnarowski went on to explain that the remaining balance of Collins’ five-year, $125 million contract – some $78-plus million over the next three seasons – essentially limited what the Hawks could get back. Surely their own efforts to move the 26-year-old forward for the last three years did them no favors either.

Collins — who was born in Layton, Utah — was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft and has gone through all of the ups and downs in his Hawks career. He ascended to a 21-point, 10-rebound player in 2019-20 but saw his role dwindle from then on.

His foray into restricted free agency in the summer of 2021 only ended after the Hawks gave him his current contract despite a dearth of suitors.

We did learn that the Hawks and Jazz had re-ignited their trade talks in recent days.

The Atlanta Hawks continue making major changes

This offseason alone he had been floated in trade rumors involving the Dallas Mavericks, Indiana Pacers, and Phoenix Suns in addition to the Jazz. But Collins’ saga is seemingly the true signal of the end of an era.

Former Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce, under whom Collins had the most success, was fired in 2020-21 and the person who drafted Collins – former team president Travis Schlenk – stepped down this past season. There was a faint hope that the change from Nate McMillan to Quin Snyder after the All-Star break could change the trajectory but Collins moves on.

So, how did both sides due in this pre-free agency blockbuster?

Atlanta Hawks grade: C+ (Pending use of trade exception)

During the 2023 NBA Draft, a report surfaced that the Hawks’ front office had orders from the top to get below the luxury tax prior to the start of the season. Atlanta was facing an $8-plus million luxury tax bill next season. They have never paid the luxury tax under team governor Tony Ressler, though he has suggested he would do so.

“The Hawks are under a mandate.to get out of the luxury tax,” said ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst on the ‘Brian Windohorst & The Hoop Collective’ on June 22. “They’ve spent a lot on signing guys…so they’ve got to shed some salary.”

There was a caveat on that: the team has to be a title contender.

The Hawks as previously constructed were 42-42 this past season — 37-34 with Collins in the lineup — and got bounced out of the playoffs in the first round for the second year in a row.

Collins is also coming off his worst season as an established pro averaging 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds and saw his three-point efficiency plummet to 29.2% this past season, though he did still manage to average 1.0 blocks per game for the fourth straight season and the fifth time in his six-year career.

On the surface, Atlanta’s return on investment here is less than they received from the Sacramento Kings for Kevin Huerter (the No. 19 overall pick in the 2018 NBA Draft): a lottery-protected first-round pick and rotation pieces in Maurice Harkless and Justin Holiday.

Gay, 36, averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds while seeing the fewest minutes of his career for the Jazz in 2022-23.

Per Wojnarowski, he exercised his $6.5 million player option to facilitate the deal.

The Hawks receive a middling grade here pending their use of the $25-plus million trade exception, currently the largest in the NBA, this move created. Wojnarowski says they could be players in a trade for a star that could push them back into the luxury tax but notes that they have a year to use it.

They also get the chance to see more from younger players Onyeka Oknogwu though Jalen Johnson stands to benefit more if the Hawks don’t add another starting-level power forward over Saddiq Bey before next season.

Utah Jazz grade: A

Collins is far from being a bad player or one whose true value was represented by the seemingly modest return. He was as malleable as a player of his talent could be, acquiescing to teammates, perhaps to his detriment, but maintaining positive energy with his teammates.

And, when he is healthy and given opportunity, Collins has been a productive player in this league.

After battling through injuries that last couple of seasons, Collins made a career-high 71 starts this past season. That is also the second-most total appearances of his career – he made 74 appearances as a rookie.

Collins – who shot 41.7% from deep over the Hawks’ final four playoff games – now figures to slot into the Jazz’s starting lineup alongside 2022-23 Most Improved Player Lauri Markkanen and Rookie of the Year finalist Walker Kessler in a super-sized frontline reminiscent of Markkanen’s Cleveland Cavaliers teams of a two seasons ago.

The only thing keeping this trade from being an ‘A+’ for Utah is using their cap space on a player who is not only disgruntled but who has also trended downward for multiple seasons.

Still, it is hard to find fault in this type of flyer for a team that was ahead of schedule last season.

Utah was a preseason tank candidate but finished just three loss out of the Play-In Tournament with a team of spare and unproven parts. Now, with an established floor, this move is seemingly in response to the increased expectations that come as rebuilds move forward.