NBA Rumors: Hawks' John Collins' Free Agent Market Heating Up

The Atlanta Hawks were one of the biggest surprises of this postseason. Despite having minimal playoff experience among their core players, the team came together and thrived on the big stage. 

First, they went into Madison Square Garden and upset the Knicks in round one, then upset the one-seed Sixers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Sadly, their run came to an end in the conference finals at the hands of the Milwaukee Bucks. 

Atlanta has done a fine job gathering promising young talent in their rebuild. Now comes the hard part, keeping the core together. This offseason brings their first big challenge as one of their key players can hit the open market. 

Contract talks between John Collins and the Hawks have not been as smooth as the team would hope. The 23-year-old feels he is worthy of a max contract, and the organization has been hesitant to offer him one. 

Collins is now a restricted free agent, meaning he can seek the highest offer sheet a team is willing to give him. Atlanta will then have an opportunity to either match that offer or let Collins walk. 

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported this week that Collins' stock increased after helping the Hawks in their deep playoff run. He also reported that there is a belief now that Collins is a max contract player. 

Some of the teams listed in the report to be in the hunt for Collins include the Mavericks, Heat, Spurs, and Timberwolves. 

This season, Collins posted averages of 17.6 PPG and 7.4 RPG while shooting just under 40% from beyond the arc. His mix of athleticism and spacing ability make him an enticing young power forward. 

Each team listed in the report could certainly use Collins' services. Miami and Dallas arguably are the most intriguing landing spots as they are ready to compete now. The Mavericks have been desperately trying to find a reliable co-star for Luka Doncic, and Collins could be that player for them. 

No matter what happens with other teams, everything comes down to the Hawks. They hold the final decision of whether Collins' future is in Atlanta or somewhere else. 

After seeing how well this group came together and fought in the postseason, it would be shocking if they let one of the core pieces walk away.  

Kevin McCormick covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN and Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @KevinMcCNBA.