After the season John Collins has had with the Utah Jazz, the sentiment has gone from, "Just get him out!" to "They should trade him, but there's no hard feelings." Well, it's now been confirmed that Collins has caught the eye of one particular team.
The Athletic's Sam Amick and Anthony Slater reported that the Sacramento Kings, who have not performed up to expectations this season, are looking for an upgrade as De'Aaron Fox is pressuring them to get a better team around him, or he'll ask out.
The Kings have a few trade targets in mind, and Collins is reportedly one of them.
"There are some familiar names who appear to be back on their radar, league sources said. Among them: Portland’s Jerami Grant, Utah’s John Collins, or Washington’s Jonas Valančiūnas and Kyle Kuzma."
So Collins has played well enough that it's no longer laughable to suggest that no team would want him. While that's the best takeaway, there's another takeaway worth nothing from this intel.
The Jazz could take advantage of the Kings' desperation
What differentiates Collins from some of the other listed targets in that article is that the Jazz likely won't ask for a first-round pick for him. They have plenty of first-round picks at their disposal, and Collins has raised his value from negative to enough to get at least traded without likely having to attach anything with him.
Because Collins has had an excellent season and likely wouldn't cost a first-round pick, that holds a ton of appeal to a team like the Kings.
So then, how could the Jazz take advantage of this? By what they could ask back for Collins. Part of why the Kings have struggled is because the guys they hoped would be their best floor-spacers haven't done that, and yet both of them could be players the
Kevin Huerter is getting outshined by Doug McDermott as a sharpshooter while being paid eight times as much. Keegan Murray has not only not progressed but has regressed across the board, so Collins would be a potential upgrade for him and Huerter after Collins' excellent all-around performance.
It would include more than just them to make trade work financially, but that's likely what the Jazz would get back for Collins: a sharpshooter who could redeem his trade value in Utah and a young slumping player who may simply need a change of scenery more than anything to reach his potential.
Getting Collins off their payroll may very well be the Jazz's primary goal, but getting someone who could turn into a valuable trade asset and someone who could be part of their future is about as optimistic as the Jazz could hope for in return for Collins.