2022 NBA Draft Intel: Hawks Continue To Discuss John Collins Trade Scenarios
The 2022 NBA Draft is set to take place on Thursday, June 23 and one of the busiest teams leading up to this year’s draft has surprisingly been the Atlanta Hawks.
One year after making a miraculous run to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Hawks now find themselves struggling to stay relevant in the Eastern Conference after a disappointing 43-39 season that ended in a first-round playoff series loss to the Miami Heat.
Continuing to grow into one of the best all-around point guards in the NBA, Trae Young offers the Hawks a path to success. The rest of this roster though is a major question mark and Hawks’ President of Basketball Operations Travis Schlenk seems very willing to make moves in order to achieve immediate success in Atlanta.
Laying all options out on the table ahead of the draft, the Atlanta Hawks are open to discussing trade scenarios surrounding Bogdan Bogdanovic, Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter and John Collins, multiple sources tell SI Fastbreak.
Bogdanovic and Gallinari are set to make a combined $39.4 million during the 2022-23 season, money that the Hawks could very well allocate elsewhere in order to increase the team’s overall talent and potential.
As for John Collins, he seems to be the player on this roster generating the most trade buzz right now with multiple teams around the league, both playoff contenders and non-playoff contenders, inquiring about his value ahead of Thursday’s draft.
Atlanta is aggressively looking to move up from their No. 16 spot in this year’s draft and moving on from Collins could present the team with a clear path to do so, while also freeing up some cap space to utilize in free agency.
Now through five years with the Hawks in the NBA, the 24-year-old forward has averaged 16.5 points, 8.3 rebounds and has shot 52.6 percent from the floor, making him a young and athletic talent that many teams in the league view as a player that can be a No. 2 or No. 3 option offensively.
In regards to teams that could possibly be interested in moving a higher pick in this year’s draft for John Collins, sources said the Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder have all been in contact with Atlanta.
Moving inside the Top-10 of this year’s draft remains a goal of the Hawks and over the course of the next 24 hours, a better picture could very well be painted for if this franchise is on the verge of a soft rebuild around Trae Young.
Houston Rockets Continuing To Talk Trades
Trading Christian Wood to the Dallas Mavericks last week, the Houston Rockets and general manager Rafael Stone are continuing to navigate the trade market ahead of the 2022 NBA Draft in which they currently own three first-round picks at Nos. 3, 17 and now 26 after the trade with Dallas, which will be official on Thursday.
Houston has had interest in dealing veteran Eric Gordon since the trade deadline this past year, but they have yet to receive an offer of their liking for him. A few months back, the Rockets were looking for at least one first-round pick for Gordon.
Now, the team is said to want a first-round pick or a younger player who could help them now, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
Along with Gordon, John Wall still finds himself one the trade block. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Wall is going to opt into his $47.3 million player option for the 2022-23 season, but he and management are continuing to work through a resolution on his future in this league, a resolution that could very well lead to the former All-Star point guard being bought out of his contract.
Should Wall become a free agent this offseason via being waived by the Houston Rockets, several playoff teams are expected to show heavy interest in signing him. Among those teams, sources said the Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and Boston Celtics are some of the teams that would look to sign him.
Having the third overall pick in Thursday’s draft, all indications point towards the Houston Rockets selecting Duke’s Paolo Banchero with the third overall pick. There has been some speculation that either the Orlando Magic with the first overall selection or the Oklahoma City Thunder with the second overall selection could draft Banchero, but a vast majority of rival executives believe Jabari Smith Jr. and Chet Holmgren will go first and second, respectively, in the draft.
The Rockets have had their eyes on Banchero throughout the pre-draft process and the idea of pairing him with last year’s second overall pick in Jalen Green presents one of the more dynamic, youthful scoring duos in the entire league, a duo that Houston believes could be the path to making them a championship contender once more in the future.
While this third pick is not really being brought up in trade talks right now, both of the Rockets’ later first-round picks are in play to be traded on draft night. Houston’s rebuild is coming along nicely and the addition of Paolo Banchero and other high-level prospects on Thursday night will continue to make this organization a young team on the rise.
Pacers Continue To Gauge Market For Malcolm Brogdon
There has been a ton of speculation ever since they acquired Tyrese Haliburton at the trade deadline this past year that the Indiana Pacers would look to move on from Malcolm Brogdon in the offseason.
With the clock ticking before the start of the 2022 NBA Draft, the Pacers continue to field calls from teams interested in Brogdon and there does seem to be a level of comfortability within the Pacers’ front-office in regards to the idea of trading the 29-year-old guard.
The former 2016-17 Rookie of the Year has missed close to 36 percent of Indiana’s total games since he joined the team ahead of the 2021-22 season and while they did recently give him a two-year veteran extension, keeping Brogdon under contract through the 2024-25 season, interest in him still exists around the league.
The New York Knicks and Washington Wizards are two teams with interest in Brogdon, according to Shams Charania, and both teams are currently slated to pick in the lottery region of this year’s draft.
The Pacers are looking to acquire another lottery pick if possible, which could lead to a draft night trade involving Malcolm Brogdon.
Not looking to rebuild right now, the Indiana Pacers have remained adamant on the fact that they will not be trading any of their players for future value only. Getting assets that can come in and contribute right away is what the Pacers are looking for in trade chatter around the league right now, similar to the value they got back from the Oklahoma City Thunder when they traded Paul George to the Thunder in 2017.
Owning the No. 6 overall pick in this year’s draft, Indiana has a handful of options on who they could draft. What the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons do with the fourth and fifth picks, respectively, will heavily influence what happens with the Pacers’ sixth pick, but Keegan Murray, Benedict Mathurin, Shaedon Sharpe, Johnny Davis and Dyson Daniels are all players the Pacers are considering with their pick, sources said.
Having Tyrese Haliburton and Chris Duarte, an All-Rookie performer from this past season, the Indiana Pacers are very optimistic that their choice with the sixth overall selection in Thursday’s draft can immediately help them have a young and dynamic team that can compete for a spot in the Play-In Tournament during the 2022-23 season.
Other Notes and Rumors From Around the NBA:
Charlotte Hornets - The idea of trading Gordon Hayward’s contract remains a talking point for the Charlotte Hornets leading up to the draft and they could very well utilize one of their two picks at No. 13 and No. 15 overall to unload the veteran’s contract. Charlotte is looking for ways to free up extra cap space in order to re-sign restricted free agent Miles Bridges to a multi-year, nine-figure deal.
Golden State Warriors - Coming off their fourth title in the last eight seasons, the Golden State Warriors are looking to bring back as many faces from their title team as possible this offseason. Long-term extensions with Andrew Wiggins and Jordan Poole are expected, as is the team moving their No. 28 overall selection in the first-round for some extra cap relief.
Memphis Grizzlies - Owning the Nos. 22 and 29 picks, the Memphis Grizzlies are looking to package both picks in attempts to move up before Thursday, as first noted by long-time NBA insider Marc Stein.
Oklahoma City Thunder - Showing interest in projected Top-10 pick Shaedon Sharpe right now, the Oklahoma City Thunder do have interest in moving up in the draft by utilizing future draft picks and their No. 12 overall selection in the draft, sources said.
Phoenix Suns - The sense that Deandre Ayton has played his final game as a member of the Phoenix Suns has continued to grow in recent weeks and there is a belief amongst league circles that several teams will aggressively pursue the restricted free agent as soon as free agency begins.
