Sports
NBA Rumors: Jazz's John Collins on Trade Block Following Offseason Deal from Hawks – Bleacher Report
Power forward John Collins could be on the trade block after just 22 games with the Utah Jazz.
According to a team source, the Jazz have “been frustrated with his slow uptake on learning the Jazz’s system on both ends of the floor,” according to the Salt Lake Tribune‘s Andy Larsen.
Collins is averaging 14.5 points and 8.6 rebounds per game through 22 starts but “hasn’t contributed as much elsewhere,” Larsen wrote.
The Jazz dealt a second-round pick to the Atlanta Hawks to acquire Collins in July.
Collins is owed over $77 million over the last three seasons of his five-year deal that includes a player option in 2025-26.
That price “could make selling Collins difficult,” Larsen noted.
The Jazz wouldn’t be the first team to fruitlessly search for a trade partner for Collins. The Hawks tried multiple times to move him before agreeing to the deal with the Jazz, according to Larsen.
Collins has yet to return to the 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game he produced in 2019-20 to earn his five-year deal.
Although he is shooting 38.3 percent from behind the arc, the 26-year-old power forward has the worst net rating of any Jazz player at minus-11.8, meaning the team as a whole scores less and allows more baskets against when he is on the court.
Despite hopes they would be competing for a playoff spot this spring, the Jazz are off an 8-16 start that has them ranked 12th in the Western Conference.
That could also lead them to consider other trades, such as deals for guards Jordan Clarkson, Collin Sexton and Talen Horton-Tucker or power forward Kelly Olynyk. Larsen and HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto named those players as potential trade options.
The Jazz is looking to add “guards who are more natural playmakers or have more defensive size,” Larsen wrote.
Given Collins’ salary, the Jazz are unlikely to find a one-on-one deal for him and that kind of guard. If the team wants to move on from Collins, it is likely the power forward and his $25 million AAV would need to be one piece of a larger trade.