The Utah Jazz have one of the most exciting young rosters in the NBA. With the team falling just shy of the play-in tournament last season, it’s clear Utah is closer to being competitive than it is to a rebuild.
Danny Ainge took the opportunity to add to the roster on Monday afternoon.
Jazz trade for Hawks forward John Collins
The Jazz are reportedly acquiring John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojranowski. An exciting move for the retooling Jazz team.
ESPN Sources: The Hawks are finalizing a trade to send F/C John Collins to the Jazz for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick. Atlanta’s largely unloading Collins’ three years, $78M for some roster building flexibility and alignment with looming changes to salary cap. pic.twitter.com/CpAfTNXKMq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2023
John Collins has been an interesting prospect since entering the league. The high-flying Wake Forest alum has seemingly been on the trade market for the past three seasons. With recent reports that Atlanta Hawks ownership was pushing for the team to get under the luxury tax, Collins was clearly the odd man out in the situation, considering his name is constantly mentioned in rumors.
Ainge took the opportunity to add Collins to the Jazz roster at a low cost, allowing the Hawks to dump the forward’s three-year, $78 million contract. The trade doesn’t come as a shock to anyone who has followed the Jazz CEO in recent years. In his time in Boston, Ainge and the Celtics were connected to Collins every season. It seems he finally landed Collins.
The former first-round pick is coming off his worst year since his rookie season. Collins averaged 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 1.2 assists on 50.8% shooting from the field and 29.2% shooting from three-point range. Despite the rough season, the versatile forward played in 71 games out of 82, showing off his durability. A coveted skill in today’s league is availability, and this past year, Collins proved to be available when needed.
At only 25 years old, Collins has yet to enter his prime and has shown plenty of flashes of potential in his time with Atlanta. Not only is his fit with the timeframe of the young Jazz roster intriguing, but his fit under Utah’s head coach, Will Hardy, will be something to watch.