When a rumor gained some traction online this week that the Hawks may be interested in sending John Collins to the Trailblazers in exchange for the 7th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, team CEO Steve Koonin quickly debunked it speaking with Dukes & Bell on 92.9 The Game.
Outlining that the money doesn’t matchup up with Collins’ 5-year/$125 million contract, Koonin quipped that “I would say starts with 'bull' and ends with…” While we know that things can change quickly as the draft approaches, Nick Kayal was relieved to hear that the trade apparently doesn’t interest Atlanta’s front office.
While Kayal wouldn’t mind the Hawks unloading Collins, who averaged 16.2 points and 7.8 boards per game in 2021-22 while dealing with injuries, he says it wouldn’t make sense to trade him for a draft pick.
"I’m not interested in giving up John Collins for a draft pick. We're past the ‘getting rid of good players for draft picks.’ Unless you're telling me at seven, I’m getting a bonafide star and he blossoms into that over the course of two, three, four years, I’ve got no interest. I don’t have years to wait on the Hawks. I want to win now…That’s what I’m interested in," he said.
Kayal did provide a caveat to his point, expressing that the Hawks should only consider such a move if it kicks off a flurry of offseason activity.
"If you’re telling me John Collins for the 7th pick, I’m really not interested unless that is just one of the shoes to drop. That’s one of the pieces to the puzzle, we’re going to trade John Collins for the 7th pick and then [GM Travis Schlenk] is going to do A-B-C-X-Y-Z in addition to that. If it's part of a grand, bigger picture, then I’m in.”
With that said, Kayal believes Collins' value in a trade is better served in a deal that packages him with other pieces in an attempt to get a second star next to Trae Young—further explaining his viewpoint that the 5th year forward out of Wake Forest can’t be the number two on a championship team.