The Atlanta Hawks finally dealt John Collins after having him in trade rumors for many years. The deal sent Collins to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gay and a second-round pick.
Collins has three years remaining on his contract for $78 million.
Let's break down this trade for both teams.
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks were able to dump Collins' contract after attempting to package him in bigger deals over the past few years.
While they didn't get much in return, as Gay is not the same caliber player as Collins; however, getting off of Collins contract is valuable, as it frees up future cap space. With the new CBA in place, it's hard for teams to have more than two big contracts on the books.
This trade helps them get under the luxury tax and gives them a $25 million trade exception, but that doesn't make them better. Atlanta needs to make more moves this offseason if they want to compete in the Eastern Conference.
Utah Jazz
The Jazz won this trade by far. Although Collins has been up and down over the past few seasons, he is a quality player.
He showed flashes of All-Star potential in the 2019-20 season when he averaged 21.6 points and 10,1 rebounds. Collins was also very efficient that season, shooting 58.3 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three.
A fresh opportunity for Collins could help him get back into this form. Collins will join a Jazz team built around Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler. They also have young pieces like Collin Sexton and Ochai Agbaji, as well as their first-round picks: Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George, and Brice Sensabaugh.
Utah is quietly building a good young core. This trade to acquire Collins added to their team and didn't cost much. The Jazz are having a great offseason thus far, and with cap space, they have a chance to upgrade their roster even more in free agency.
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