For the second year in a row, John Collins, the 23-year-old power forward for the Hawks, would be available despite his sheer numbers … and Atlanta vying for a playoff spot.
So, The Athletic’s Sam Amick wrote Friday, “Nonetheless, sources say the Hawks are willing to listen to offers for Collins (this shouldn’t surprise anyone).”
One big reason, as Amick wrote, is that Collins is in need of an extension this summer, and it is reported that he has already turned down a $ 90 million offer from Hawks owners. So if they are not willing to pay him and would rather get something for him than lose him for nothing, why not listen to offers?
And Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson tweeted that there are two contenders who called the Hawks. He didn’t mention the teams BUT it should be noted, as we did last week a year ago, that the Nets took an interest in Collins.
Chris Kirschner, also of The Athletic, then wrote that Nets had shown an interest in John Collins … and that “Spencer Dinwiddie was ‘mentioned’ in conversations Kirschner admitted may not be that ‘advanced’.”
There are, as Kirschner wrote then and Amick writes now, big problems for the Hawks, starting with how Collins represents much of the Hawks’ present, if not their future.
As Peachtree Hoops, our sister site, noted in an article on Friday with the headline, “John Collins’ Situation Is Not Something The Hawks Can Afford,” how wonderful Collins has been.
Collins makes more than 40% of his threes over his past 65 games (last season + this season), averaging 20.4 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks over that period. His true shooting rate in that period is 65.5%, and he’s made tremendous progress as a defender. No one knows this better than the Hawks as there seems to be a story in national circles that Collins is still a negative on the defensive. That just isn’t the case, and it hasn’t been for a while.
This season, Collins played positive contributions on both sides alongside Clint Capela. Capela and Collins are second in the defensive rating in the Eastern Conference between two-man lineups that have played together for at least 350 minutes, something Kevin Chouinard wrote about in January. To further illustrate this point, Collins and De’Andre Hunter are the fourth best two-person setup in this area, while Collins and Trae Young take fifth (yes, you read that right).
So why not splurge? Atlanta isn’t a mega-owner team, and they have other, even younger, big ones they like. And they will have to pay Trae Yong a lot of money.
Which brings us to the Brooklyn Nets. Let’s assume last year’s story was correct and they are still interested this year. It would be quite a Sean Mark’s move. Marks is unsentimental, as he proved he favored Kyrie Irving over D’Angelo Russell, by trading four players, including fan favorites Caris LeVert and Jarrett Allen, to acquire James Harden … and by (or whatever you want to call it ) To dump Kenny. Atkinson. Marks sees a problem and tries to solve it.
How would such a trade work? Well, as with last year’s rumor, one piece should almost be Spencer Dinwiddie, everyone’s favorite trade piece. He has a player option in the summer and is currently making $ 12.3 million. A week ago, Adrian Wojnarowski reported that “there are teams who are interested in acting for him. to have his Bird Rights, to potentially sign him for the long term. “
Collins earns almost exactly one third of what Dinwiddie earns, which is $ 4.1 million. Perhaps the Hawks want the Nets to make another contract while demanding a young player. The nets don’t have any first round to trade. They all went south to Houston. What they do have are some young bigs, 20-year-old Reggie Perry and 21-year-old Nic Claxton, both with Georgia connections. Perry grew up there, Claxton plays college ball there. Both have very cheap deals.
Then there is the big question? Would the Nets be willing to pay what Collins wants if they take him over? Brooklyn would have his Bird Rights so they could sign him outside the salary cap, but Joe Tsai would have to agree to pay massive, and ultimately historic, luxury taxes.
The Nets are currently looking into the possibility of maximum expansions for the Big Three: Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and James Harden. Yossi Gozlan, in one Hope hype podcast with Mike Scotto, explained what maximum extensions would look like … including what the max number would be in 2025-26, when they would be between the ages of 33 and 37.
Harden: four years, $ 161.1 million
2026: $ 57.7 million
Durant: four years, $ 197.7 million
2026: $ 54.7 million
Irving: four years, $ 181.6 million
2026: $ 50.5 million
That’s three $ 50 million players on the same team in 2026, when Collins may also be under contract. For a long time you talked about luxury tax payments of nine figures per year. Tsai has shown he’s willing to pay not just with the Nets but the Liberty, but it’s a lot to ask any owner, even if its net worth is up $ 4 billion since he first bought into the Nets.
Would Collins Fit? A 6’9 “power forward that can shoot and rebound? Certainly, and in the long run, Collins could play a part in what Marks hopes will be a sustainable Nets future. We don’t know if the Hawks would eventually agree to trade an important piece, whether the Nets are interested, whether they would trade assets, whether Tsai would be willing to pay the bill, and of course whether another team would come in and Grab Collins. But we would be surprised if we don’t hear about Collins and Brooklyn again Watch this space.