NBA Trade Rumors: Utah Jazz closing in on a deal for John Collins?
NBA Trade Rumors: Are the Utah Jazz closing in on a deadline deal for John Collins? It’s beginning to look that way.
Since it was originally reported early this season that the Atlanta Hawks would once again be shopping John Collins ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, the Utah Jazz has been one of the teams that have shown interest.
And with just a few weeks before the trade deadline, the Jazz seems to be the team that (according to a recent report) has been the most engaged with the Hawks regarding a potential deal. This report also states that the Hawks are interested in Utah’s Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt. Perhaps that could be the start of a framework for a deal getting done between now and the trade deadline.
Since the Jazz moved Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert during the offseason, it’s been clear that the plan for the team is to try and rebuild on the fly. This recent report suggesting that the Jazz may be the one team that decides to go all-in for Collins at the deadline only strengthens that belief – that Utah has no interest in the full-blown rebuild that many were clamoring for this team to make.
John Collins to the Utah Jazz makes some sense
Even though there are many gripes surrounding Collins and his current play with the Hawks this season, a change of scenery would make a ton of sense for him at this point in his career. It’s clear that he’s struggled over the past two seasons in Atlanta. That doesn’t mean he’s a bad player necessarily. Sometimes players do need a change of scenery or a fresh start in an attempt to jumpstart their careers. Collins may be at that point.
Collins is still just 25 years old and could be a foundation for a build elsewhere, especially if he’s not considered that at the moment in Atlanta.
Where this gets complicated is with the asking price that the Hawks have. It’s reportedly high and I’m not sure the Jazz are going to want to part ways with the draft picks that Atlanta will likely be seeking.
Next. NBA Trade Rumors: Predicting who the Raptors are most likely to move at the deadline. dark
Beasley and Vanderbilt are unlikely to be all it will take to get Collins at the deadline. But without much of a market for Collins (which it sounds like), the Hawks will have a big decision to make. Do they trade him just for the sake of finally moving on, or do they hold on to the asset for the offseason?