Could Brooklyn Nets Pursue Former Atlanta Hawks First-Round Pick?
The Eastern Conference is stacked with talented teams, leaving a very minimal margin for error this season. The Brooklyn Nets are hopeful that they will be able to contend for a championship and with the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant on the floor, they know they have a chance to be great.
However, the Nets have started the 2022-23 NBA season off slow, as they currently find themselves just 8-9 through 17 games. While they have won 6 of their last 9 games, there are still some holes on this roster, particularly in the frontcourt.
The emergence of Ben Simmons over the team’s last couple of games is definitely promising, however, adding another big man who can not only play alongside Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons, but be someone who can be reliable on both ends of the floor is key.
Nicolas Claxton cannot do everything for this team at the center position all season long, which is why a player like John Collins could be on the Nets’ radar.
Drafted 19th overall in 2017 by the Atlanta Hawks, Collins has proven to be a steady scorer in the paint, as well as a stretch big man who can score out on the perimeter. Not to mention, Collins’ athletic abilities make him an avid rim-protector and someone who could really thrive in a rotation against other skilled, athletic players like Durant, Irving and Simmons.
He’s always been a solid pick-and-roll scoring threat as a big man and John Collins is available right now for the right price.
The Hawks currently find themselves 10-6 and they look like a real playoff contender in the Eastern Conference, but Atlanta has shown a level of interest in moving Collins through the years and recently, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported that the team is once again shopping Collins and have made him available in trade talks.
In the midst of his sixth NBA season with the Hawks, Collins has averaged 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game for his career while shooting 55.7 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent from three-point range, including this season.
While his numbers are well down this year and Collins’ overall production has taken a hit due to the arrival of Dejounte Murray and the emergence of De’Andre Hunter as the team’s third leading scorer, John Collins is still a key talent that could absolutely thrive in a secondary scoring role in Brooklyn.
The Nets’ biggest weakness right now as a team lies on the interior and looking to make a move to sure things up in the frontcourt must be this team’s main priority over the next few months heading towards the trade deadline.
Set to make $102 million through the 2025-26 season, assuming he opts into his $26.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season, John Collins is owed a ton of money through the years.
Being only 25-years-old though, trading for Collins presents opportunity for the Nets.
Who knows what the future holds for the Brooklyn Nets past this season and who knows if both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant will be around long-term. Trading for Collins though opens up a world of possibilities for the Nets, as he is a young player they could build with should everything fall apart in the offseason.
Looking at things from a positive standpoint though, the addition of John Collins gives the Nets another weapon to play around with on offense and a potential closing rotation of Kyrie Irving, Royce O’Neale, Kevin Durant, John Collins and Ben Simmons presents hope that this team could go on a real run heading towards the playoffs.
What this trade would look like though is the biggest question mark. Brooklyn does not have any valuable draft assets that they can leverage at this time and in order to make the finances of this trade work, they would very likely have to part ways with Joe Harris and Kessler Edwards, who are making a combined $20.2 million this year.
Harris has always been a player the Nets have really liked and he has proven to be one of the best three-point shooters in the league when healthy, but the Nets do not necessarily need him moving forward.
Veteran Patty Mills is an excellent perimeter threat and the Nets also have Seth Curry, who currently ranks third all-time in three-point shooting percentage.
Moving Harris now for a massive frontcourt upgrade that this team could build with for the foreseeable future is absolutely a move the Nets should and must consider making this year, especially if the Hawks are interested in Joe Harris.
The Brooklyn Nets are the NBA’s biggest question mark this season, as one move could very well be the difference in them going on a run and being the title contenders they hope to be or losing in the first-round of the playoffs yet again.
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