John Collins is having a down year for the Atlanta Hawks as of right now, and there’s no doubt that he’s been included in a number of trade rumors as a result. As of right now, John Collins is putting up 13.3 PPG and 8.1 RPG while shooting a career-low 22.9% from beyond the arc.
In a recent interview with Sam Amick of The Athletic, John Collins opened up on being consistently included in trade rumors. He pointed out that he doesn’t “control that side” of basketball, and compared his situation to Kevin Durant’s trade request during the summer.
To Collins’ credit, he has learned to find his peaceful place during trade season by taking a balanced, big-picture view.
“I play basketball every day, you know what I mean?” Collins said while sitting in the stands at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento last week before Atlanta’s 120-117 win over the Kings. “I come in and I play basketball, and whatever happens happens because I don’t control that side. I don’t have any control over any decisions that get made. Where I am and where I play, I don’t have any control over that.
“I can say, ‘Hey, I want to do this and I wanna do that,’ and they can just do whatever they feel is fair. You saw it with Kevin Durant (last summer), right? He’s begging for trade, and Brooklyn is like, ‘Nah.’ Not saying that I’m Kevin Durant, but it’s just the mentality of ‘Yeah, you can say whatever, you can make a public scene, you can do whatever, (but it won’t matter).’”
Obviously, John Collins understands that players don’t often get a say in what happens regarding their future. Even Kevin Durant was eventually forced to stay with the Brooklyn Nets, despite his desire to leave. Hopefully, though, John Collins ends up in a situation where he’s happy, whether that ends up being with the Atlanta Hawks in the future or otherwise.
John Collins Could End Up On The Miami Heat
In a different situation, John Collins could potentially end up playing better. The Miami Heat are a team that is interested in him, and perhaps he can form a dynamic frontcourt with Bam Adebayo.
“John Collins, too, the Heat are one of the teams watching that situation, but they probably need more young assets to send back,” an Eastern Conference executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “Everyone talks about the [Los Angeles] Lakers’ 2027 pick but (Miami’s 2027 pick) is one that the Heat can trade as well, and there is a lot of value being placed on that pick because you can imagine them hitting a bottom around then. Is it enough to help them get Collins? Probably not but it is a good asset for them.”
Playing under an elite coach like Erik Spoelstra could potentially get the best out of John Collins. They have a reputation for helping players revive their careers, and we’ll see if that happens in this case. The Brooklyn Nets were notably a team that was interested in John Collins in the past as well.
It remains to be seen if the Atlanta Hawks do manage to move John Collins in the future. He has consistently been in trade rumors even in past years, but the franchise held off on moving him. Perhaps it will be different this year.
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