John Collins
Just like the Deandre Ayton proposal, this situation should be awfully familiar. Last week I also proposed a trade with the Atlanta Hawks to pair Gobert with a laser 3-point shooting guard, that being Trae Young of course.
Only this time, Gobert and Young are teamed up in Atlanta, not Utah. This would send third year big man John Collins to the Utah Jazz.
I love this fit the most out of any of these players, because Collins can space the floor well for a big, and also run the pick and roll quite well. Atlanta Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce went as far as to say that Collins and Trae Young are “the best pick and roll duo in the league”.
It’s clear that Collins has great offensive potential.
He is only 22 years old, and was born in Layton, Utah. He broke the 20 and 10 threshold this season, averaging 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game He made 59 treys in just 41 games played this season.
Maybe what Donovan Mitchell needs is a big that can shoot as well as attack the rim on the pick and roll. The Jazz defense would take a hard hit but the offense would be darn near unstoppable.
The Jazz could acquire Collins, De’Andre Hunter, and Clint Capela in exchange for Gobert. It would take a little wheeling and dealing on Utah’s part to find Capela a new home, because he is just too good to play backup center to a 22 year old.
Utah would be able to replenish some young talent on the wings that they lost when they dealt away Grayson Allen last summer, and they’d also get some assets in return for Capela.
The Young/Gobert duo would be able to challenge Trae’s rival since the day he was drafted, that being Luka Doncic and his partner Kristaps Porzingis. Meanwhile the Jazz would be able to punt towards 2025, right about when Mitchell and Collins are in the peak of their careers.