The Utah Jazz have not seen the best version of John Collins this season as they had hoped when they traded for him in the offseason. Some of it is positional fit, he seems lost at times with guys like Lauri Markkanen on the court next to him. Some of it is his less-than-stellar play on both ends of the court. An upgrade over the man they traded, Rudy Gay, but not at the level of his current contract. And some of it is effort, as sometimes Collins just seems lackadaisical.
But would we say that the Utah Jazz made a mistake in trading for Collins? That's what Bleacher Report's Dan Favale is claiming for the Jazz. In one of their recent articles, the website looked at every team's biggest mistake from the offseason, and for the Jazz, they listed trading for Collins, citing how his arrival hasn't gone well, that trading him again would require more draft capital to be attached to him and how his arrival has limited Taylor Hendrick's rookie outing with the club.
Favale goes on to say;
"The Jazz can always hold on to Collins until his value rebounds or he becomes an expiring contract. They are not on a timeline that necessitates urgency. But there is an untold opportunity cost to
deciding he was worth this flier."
But is this the big mistake from the offseason? Absolutely not. While Collins isn't playing up to his contract, he's not a bad player and he's a serious upgrade over Gay, who they traded to get Collins. Not only that but Collins' contract will be useful in trying to improve the roster going forward, and that's not a bad asset to have at all.
No, the biggest mistake the Utah Jazz made was the decision to have a point guard-by-committee situation, a move that backfired tremendously. The Jazz always should've gone with Collin Sexton and Kris Dunn as the team's starting guards, but here we are, finding that out the hard way all these months later.