Collins Suspended For Violating Anti-Drug Policy

The NBA has suspended Hawks forward John Collins 25 games for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, Adrian Wojnarowski reported Tuesday morning.

Per the NBA, Collins tested positive for Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-2. He will begin his suspension Tuesday night against the Spurs, according to Sarah Spencer of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He has already begun the process of appealing the suspension through the NBA Players’ Association.

“First I want to apologize to my teammates, the Hawks organization, our fans, partners and community as a whole for this situation,” Collins said in a statement to Wojnarowski. “I understand the impact this matter has on what we are trying to achieve together this season, and I am incredibly frustrated and disappointed in myself for putting all [of] us in this position.

“I have always been incredibly careful about what I put in my body, but I took a supplement, which unbeknownst to me, had been contaminated with an illegal component. I plan to appeal my suspension in arbitration so I can get back on the court as soon as possible and continue to contribute to our 2019-20 campaign.”

Collins is the second young big man to be caught using banned substances this year after Suns center Deandre Ayton was suspended for the first 25 games of the year for using a banned diuretic.

This delivers quite a blow to the Hawks, who rely on Collins’ scoring and roll gravity to open up one of the more potent offenses in the NBA. The 22-year-old was averaging 17 points and 8.8 rebounds per game on a robust 62.1 true shooting percentage while playing the best defense of his three-year career. His absence will throw Atlanta’s entire frontcourt rotation for a loop.

Lloyd Pierce has more willingly played Collins at center this season, but without the ability to pivot to those small lineups, it will put more on Alex Len, Bruno Fernando, and Damian Jones. None are perfect options, and deploying Jabari Parker at center would be a defensive disaster.

The most likely candidates to replace Collins in the starting lineup are probably Parker, DeAndre’ Bembry, and Kevin Huerter. Parker has emerged as one of the Hawks’ best isolation and spot-up scorers early in the season, and has given Atlanta a dynamic, floor-spacing threat to help offset defenses who bend too far toward Trae Young. Bembry offers more playmaking, and has been a valuable defender and facilitator in bench units; Pierce may opt to continue using him as a stabilizer off the bench.

Huerter will likely rejoin the starting lineup eventually after starting 59 games last season. His ability to shoot, space the floor, and work with the ball in his hands would add another layer to a dynamic offense. But starting him would require moving De’Andre Hunter to power forward, which Pierce appears loath to do at this point in Hunter’s career. Both Hunter and Huerter are also on minutes restrictions, which limits their ability to soak up Collins’ minutes. Vince Carter, who has played primarily on the wing thus far, could spend more time as a small-ball power forward.

Offensively, Atlanta’s offense will become far more ground-bound without the bouncy Collins providing vertical gravity. Jones might be able to approximate his athleticism, but no one else on the roster shares the sort of timing, feel, and chemistry with Trae Young that Collins does. That will place an even larger burden on Young’s shoulders and could affect the shot quality of Atlanta’s role players without the threat of Collins rolling downhill. How Pierce distributes the now-available touches will be worth tracking as Collins waits out his suspension.

UPDATE: Hawks general manager released the following statement regarding Collins' suspension on Tuesday afternoon:

"On behalf of the entire Hawks organization, we are disappointed to learn that John put himself in an unfortunate situation and violated the league’s anti-drug policy. We hold ourselves and each of our players to a high standard and we are committed to supporting John as he learns from this setback and continues to grow as both a player and a person.

"Head Coach Lloyd Pierce and I have both talked to him and we believe that he is truly remorseful for his actions. We will provide John with support on and off the court while we look forward to his return to the team.”