NBA trade rumors: Hawks lower John Collins asking price; Jazz, Rockets remain interested
If the Atlanta Hawks have not been the most disappointing team in the league this season, they are not far from it. After a beating from the Phoenix Suns on Wednesday, the Hawks are 26-26 and cling to a play-in spot, just one game ahead of the 11th-place Chicago Bulls in the column. defeats.
Does Atlanta have a move up its sleeve ahead of next Thursday’s NBA trade deadline? The Athletic’s Sam Amick reported on Wednesday that “half the league” is calling the Hawks over Bogdan Bogdanovic, but it’s John Collins who is “most likely” to be traded, with the Hawks having recently reduced their asking price for the athletic striker. .
From Friend:
[Trae] Young isn’t going anywhere. It is the same for [Dejounte] Murray. Collins is most likely on the exit, of course, and it bears repeating that the asking price is known to have dropped significantly in recent years (according to league sources, the focus is on landing a quality player or players in return but no mandate for a first-round pick).
This development clearly reflects the focus on recovery this season, as opposed to recovering the vast assets lost in Murray’s trade with San Antonio this summer. As we reported recently, the Jazz and Rockets are known to be among the teams in pursuit [of Collins].
Collins has been on the trading block for a few years now, but former general manager Travis Schlenk was never moved enough by any of the packages offered to Collins to pull the trigger. It started in 2021 when the Hawks caught fire late and Collins’ sudden move at the deadline threatened to shut down the good vibes.
After making a surprise trip to the conference finals that year, Schlenk signed Collins to a five-year, $125 million extension. It didn’t entirely remove Collins from trade consideration, but with Schlenk no longer pulling the levers and Landry Fields now in charge, the desire to deal Collins, who was pretty well baffled by the Atlanta attack, picked up again. .
The problem is that the contract Schlenk gave Collins is now seen as an obstacle for Atlanta, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. It turns out teams aren’t too keen on paying nearly $80 million to a guy who lost his 3-point shot, and therefore his ability to stretch the floor. Collins owes $25.3 million and $26.6 million in each of the next two seasons, and a potential for another player option of $26.6 million in 2026.
Atlanta might be willing to make a deal with Collins without asking for a first-round pick in return, but they’re highly unlikely to view it as some sort of salary dump that would force them to tie up one of their own picks. to an agreement.
We’ll see how motivated Atlanta is to make a deal with its faltering season.