Could OKC Thunder Take a Chance on Utah Jazz Forward?

If any area caused the Oklahoma City Thunder the most pain last season, it was rebounding.

Due to the nature of a smaller, athletic and fast-paced young group, rebounding became more of an afterthought compared to most other teams across the NBA for Oklahoma City. It didn't exactly matter in the regular season — after all, it did get the No. 1 seed in the West — but it finally came back to bite in the playoffs.

Chet Holmgren lacked any true rebounding help alongside him, and with his lanky frame and ability to play outside of the paint, it was too large of a burden to rely on him for. The Thunder could look into solving the problem by adding a power forward with rebounding capabilities, and it just so happens the Utah Jazz have one potentially for the taking.

Well, maybe not the first player you think of.

As much as the idea of Lauri Markkanen in Oklahoma City is appealing, there's been no suggestion that Utah has any interest in moving on from the former All-Star. It wants to build around him for its future, so it would take a high asking price that the Thunder may want to avoid pulling the trigger on right now.

That leaves John Collins as the next option, and by far the most realistic one. The 26-year-old has spent most of his seven-year career with the Atlanta Hawks, but his production started to trek on a downward slope by the end of his tenure there. Being traded to the Jazz provided some necessary change for him last season, resulting in improved play.

Collins finished with respectable averages of 15.1 points and 8.5 rebounds in 28 minutes per game on 53/37/79.5% shooting splits, which is valuable production on any team. Standing at 6-foot-9 with high athleticism, he's a skilled rebounder that could help Holmgren dramatically in that department. His defensive issues could be hidden well with an elite Oklahoma City defense, and offensively he would be yet another big man with floor spacing abilities, fitting fairly well into the dynamic system it runs.

The biggest issue with trading for Collins is his hefty contract, still being owed just over $26 million for the next two years. It's a lot of money to take on for the value he brings, not to mention the future flexibility the Thunder will need to retain its core talent. While he may be able to help some issues, those issues could be found on a cheaper level.

On a brighter side, the actual trade package itself wouldn't be a severe asking price in the slightest. Utah is seeking to get Collins' salary off the books, so it'd be content with getting a smaller return that might not even fully match his value. A highly-protected first round pick and potentially someone like Kenrich Williams could get close to a done deal, which might be enticing.

Collins is by no means a required add, there are certainly some glaring issues he'd bring even with the useful benefits. However, it's still worth a look at depending on what else Oklahoma City is able to make happen in the offseason.

He may not be Markkanen, but Collins isn't a bad secondary option to have in your back pocket.

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