Zach Lowe reveals what it would take for the Jazz to trade John Collins

In what looks to be another rebuilding year for the Utah Jazz, the value of their veterans on the trade market is vital to their present and future roster construction. Unfortunately, one of the Jazz's veterans may not be worth too much to the rest of the NBA right now.

In Zach Lowe's The Lowe Post Podcast on September 18th, he claimed that John Collins has no trade value to the rest of the association. So much so that the Jazz would have to pay to get him off their books.

"He has no trade value right now," Lowe said. "You'd have to pay a draft pick I think to get somebody to take this contract."

Collins seems like an obvious trade option for the Jazz, so this is not great news and could be a reason we haven't seen or heard much trade talks over the past few months. Giving up picks is not something the Jazz will be looking to do, so unless Collins plays well and earns trade value this season, he may be with the team until his contract is up.

Would it be that bad to keep Collins?

While the Jazz are trying to accumulate as many draft picks as possible, holding onto Collins could be a good option for the Jazz tank. Collins' contract is a little much for the caliber of play he has brought to Utah but it helps keep the team above the minimum salary requirements.

Collins' trade value is lacking because of his middling performance for the price of his contract, but the Jazz may be perfectly content with an average performance on their team. Their draft pick is the most valuable one they own, and the more losses they accumulate and more mediocre performances, the more losses and better lottery they have.

Collins also brings a veteran presence to the locker room that the multiple rookies the Jazz have drafted can use to learn and mature. He also has experience in the conference finals, so the lessons he can pass on could be a huge boon to the youth of the team.

Collins may not be a long-term solution for the Jazz on their roster, but even if he doesn't have trade value, he can bring his own value to the team over the next couple of years in many different ways.

Plus the Jazz's timeline allows them to swallow the last two years of his contract whole with hardly any trouble at all.