NBA trade rumors: John Collins receiving significant interest from 5 different teams

Despite the Atlanta Hawks being the hottest team in basketball, power forward John Collins is drawing considerable trade interest from at least five different teams. Could he be dealt by Thursday?

If the Atlanta Hawks give John Collins the 1994 Dominique Wilkins treatment, the City of Atlanta will be big mad. While the Hawks are winners of their last eight games, their star power forward is drawing major trade interest ahead of the 2021 NBA trade deadline.

The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reports Collins has major interest on the trade market from five teams: the Boston Celtics, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Minnesota Timberwolves and Sacramento Kings. Collins will be hitting restricted free agency this summer, but he has been huge in Atlanta’s turnaround under interim head coach Nate McMillan.

O’Connor reports the Wolves turned down the Hawks’ request for Malik Beasley and a first-round draft pick in exchange for Collins.

Should the Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins ahead of Thursday’s deadline?

If Atlanta can get a first-round pick in an offer general manager Travis Schlenk cannot refuse, then Collins will be playing on a new team by this time next weekend. However, most teams are not going to want to part ways with such a coveted asset like a first-round pick when there are no guarantees Collins will be coming back to them on a new deal. He is a restricted free agent.

While the Hawks or whoever potentially trades for him could match any offer sheet he gets later this summer, it feels like Schlenk will not part ways with Collins for pennies on the dollar. Though he is smart to see what a robust trade market could get for his starting power forward, this is the best Hawks team we have seen in about five years. It feels like he could stay put at the deadline.

Could any of these five teams put together a compelling enough offer to land Collins by Thursday?