John Collins has been named among the players the Utah Jazz will put in trade discussions this offseason. It's recently been confirmed that the Jazz have discussed him with the Lakers, but that same intel confirmed Utah won't get much value out of Collins. The one way the two sides could agree to a deal is to add more value to the asset that the Lakers already owe the Jazz.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Andy Larsen revealed on "Locked on Jazz" that the Lakers have discussed Collins with the Lakers, but also that Utah shouldn't expect much back for him, no matter where he goes.
“The Lakers-John Collins, I think, has been a conversation that’s been had,” Larsen said. “...I think, just contract-wise, that doesn’t work out anymore. I think he had a productive enough season last year that there should be interest in the league somewhere for him. I don’t expect the Jazz to get value back necessarily in those deals, though.”
The Lakers are among the teams most desperate for a big man. They were humiliated in the first round of the 2025 NBA Playoffs - by old friend Rudy Gobert, no less - partly because the Minnesota Timberwolves continuously picked on that roster flaw throughout the series. Collins isn't perfect, but he is much better than who they were trying to play.
Because Collins is on an expiring and expensive deal, the Lakers, or any other trade partner for that matter, will give that much for him. However, in the Lakers' case, they could make an asset they already owe the Jazz even better in a Collins trade.
For context, the Lakers traded a top-four protected first-round pick in 2027 to the Jazz for bailing them out of the Russell Westbrook disaster in 2023. In a trade for Collins, they make that pick completely unprotected, thus meaning the Jazz will get it no matter what.
By doing so, they wouldn't improve the quantity of the draft assets in Utah's arsenal, but it would improve the quality, which is what the Jazz should want, as their already loaded with first and second-round picks.
They also would have to match salaries, but that shouldn't be much of an issue. The Lakers have quite a few expendable salaries to dangle, like Maxi Kleber and Gabe Vincent, plus with any luck, maybe Utah can convince them to send Dalton Knecht their way
This isn't a perfect situation, but it might be the best one the Jazz can hope for if trading Collins is their primary objective. Besides, if he gets sent over to LA, that could get the Lakers to stop dreaming about Walker Kessler.
Of course, this hypothetical is based on Collins opting into his contract for next season, which isn't confirmed yet, but given the lack of available money, he probably will.
The Lakers owe the Jazz
The Jazz have done some pretty big favors for the Jazz for the past few years. Not only did they get them out of the Westbrook problem, but the players LA got back were good enough to help them go to the Western Conference Finals.
That's not the only favor the Jazz have done for the Lakers. They also unknowingly helped the Lakers orchestrate the Luka Doncic trade. Collins may not be the ideal big man for their roster problems, but he's an upgrade, and the Lakers may not have better options.
Los Angeles may play hardball with Utah if they're serious about Collins, but they must consider what the Jazz have done for them.