NBA Trade Grades: Clippers land John Collins in 3-team deal with Jazz, Heat

The overhaul of the Los Angeles Clippers frontcourt continues. Just days after landing Brook Lopez as another center option to pair with Ivica Zubac, Lawrence Frank and Co. have taken another big swing, landing intriguing forward John Collins from the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team deal with the Miami Heat.

According to a report from ESPN's Shams Charania, L.A. will send guard Norman Powell to Miami, while the Jazz get a 2027 Clippers second-round pick as well as two more expiring contracts in Kevin Love and Kyle Anderson.

Collins, who will turn 28 in September, has been floated in trade rumors from pretty much the moment Utah acquired him from the Atlanta Hawks a couple of years ago. He's due $26,580,000 in the final year of the five-year, $125 million deal he signed with Atlanta, but after paying this price for him, you'd imagine that the Clippers won't hesitate to begin negotiations on an extension.

John Collins lands in Los Angeles in 3-team Clippers, Heat, Jazz trade

In fact, much of how this trade looks for the Clippers depends on what happens next. It's hard to argue the fit here, though: Collins' potential has always been tantalizing, a bouncy 6-foot-9 power forward who's shooting a career 36.3% from 3. He's struggled to fully actualize it, whether due to injury or a sometimes inconsistent motor. But when he's right, he's a unique player who can either space the floor or serve as another vertical threat for James Harden.

That makes him an ideal fit next to Zubac in the Clippers' revamped starting lineup, where he should pair well with two more traditional big men who can handle rim-protection duties. Between Zubac, Collins and Lopez, L.A. now has three bigs with complementary skill sets, giving Harden plenty of optionality while allowing Kawhi Leonard to slide back down to small forward more often.

It came at a cost, though. Powell was excellent last season, averaging over 21 points per game on 48.4% shooting (41.8% from 3). Bogdan Bogdanovic figures to pick up much of that slack, but giving up Powell still puts even more pressure on Harden and Leonard to shoulder the creation and scoring load. That is, unless this deal is opening up space for something bigger: Bradley Beal is reportedly nearing a buyout with the Phoenix Suns, and his shooting prowess would be an ideal way to backfill Powell's spot on the roster while boosting their frontcourt.

This is a good bit of business for the Heat as well, considering just how starved this team was for shooting and shot creation alongside Tyler Herro. Powell will be more than up to that task, and his $20 million expiring contract should also be eminently movable should Miami decide to do so at some point ahead of the trade deadline. This makes the team more competitive in the near term while also still allowing Pat Riley to hunt for stars moving forward, and all it cost was some salary filler to get it done.

For the Jazz, meanwhile ... well, they finally pulled the trigger on moving Collins. But it's hard to feel great about this return, even allowing for the fact that he was entering the final year of his deal and it was obvious his future didn't lie in Utah. It feels like Danny Ainge simply waited too long here, unwilling to move off of his initial asking price until it was too late. The Jazz have now turned Collin Sexton, Jordan Clarkson and John Collins into Jusuf Nurkic, Kyle Anderson, Kevin Love and two future second-round picks; that's hardly the sort of asset management that will jumpstart this rebuild.

Clippers trade grade: A-
Heat trade grade: B+
Jazz trade grade: C