It’s not hard to understand why the Hawks opened its checkbook for John Collins after the 2020-21 season. Hot on the heels of a surprising run to the Eastern Conference Finals, they figured they could build on their success with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft as a valuable contributor. Since then, however, they’ve had to deal with his inconsistency; his dwindling numbers for some reason or another have made the five-year, $125-million deal he signed a decided overcharge. Even with his minutes remaining at the 30-per-game mark, his offensive stats — nominal and advanced — have plummeted to the point where he is seen as a glaring liability.
Under different-colored lenses and with the more prohibitive salary cap regime slated to penalize profligacy, Collins became an albatross that the Hawks needed to let go of. Even as the front office shopped him around, however, the absence of takers significantly reflected his relative worth — or, to be more precise, lack thereof. With Landry Fields now the general manager following Travis Schlenk’s move to the Wizards, the desire to find equal, or close to equal, value for him made way for the need to simply let him go. And so they looked for a partner in a salary dump.
Enter the very willing Jazz, whose penny-pinching ways gave them the financial flexibility needed to absorb Collins. Needless to say, they’re high on his upside — high enough, at least, to believe he’s worth the $78 million and change remaining on his contract. From their vantage point, he’s just about to enter his prime at 25. And his immediate past results notwithstanding, he has a body of work that fuels optimism. Considering that their priorities are much different from the Hawks’, head of hoops operations Danny Ainge no doubt saw his arrival as a no-brainer.
How the trade will ultimately be marked in history depends on Collins’ capacity to perform. The Hawks kept him around for too long, insisting on a dollar-for-dollar return only to end up with an empty bag. That said, they did well to move on and resist the temptation to throw good money after bad. Meanwhile, the Jazz get the opportunity to ride on his potential as part of a solid ensemble that also features All-Star Lauri Markkanen and All-Rookie slotman Walter Kessler. Whether he’s a starter or a sixth man depends on how fast 2023 ninth overall pick Taylor Hendricks develops. In any case, he’s a flyer at a huge discount: a bane for one and a boon for the other.
Anthony L. Cuaycong has been writing Courtside since BusinessWorld introduced a Sports section in 1994. He is a consultant on strategic planning, operations and human resources management, corporate communications, and business development.
