NBA rumors: Hawks make John Collins available
By John Buhler
Once again, the Atlanta Hawks are making power forward John Collins available for trade.
Death, taxes and the Atlanta Hawks putting John Collins on the trade block…
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. Well, Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Friday morning about Atlanta once again making Collins available for trade. Charania said these are preliminary trade discussions for the borderline All-Star power forward and one of Atlanta’s four best players. All the while, the Hawks have gotten off to a strong start this year in the deep East.
Keep in mind that the 2023 NBA trade deadline is not until Feb. 9, so that is still a long way out.
NBA trade rumors: Atlanta Hawks once again make John Collins available
News of Collins potentially coming available stems from Villa Rica native Jae Crowder being disgruntled with the Phoenix Suns. Although Crowder has also been tied to the Milwaukee Bucks, Atlanta would be an interesting fit for him. More importantly, Charania reported that Phoenix does seem to have some interest in the former Wake Forest star and long-time Hawks power forward.
Of course, there are a few challenges with the Suns potentially trading for Collins. The first is he is in year two of a five-year contract worth $125 million. While it is certainly not an albatross, Collins is averaging only 12.6 points per game, his worst mark since his rookie season out of Wake Forest in 2017-18. The other big factor is the Suns being in the process of getting a new owner.
While Phoenix has plenty of tradable assets, it remains to be seen if they will strike up a deal with Collins. For now, Atlanta keeps putting Collins on the block like the New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets used to do forever with Brook Lopez. All the while, Atlanta is 9-6 through its first 15 games and has the third best record in the Eastern Conference. They are still assimilating to life with Dejounte Murray.
Should Collins be dealt at some point between now and February, it will likely be to a strong team.
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