The Hawks failed to reach a rookie scale extension agreement with big man John Collins, who will enter restricted free agency after the season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The Hawks felt like they made a competitive offer to Collins, and will still be interested in retaining him, according to Sarah K. Spencer of the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
Collins has previous started he should be in the conversation for a max deal, Spencer adds. Atlanta’s front office obviously wasn’t yet willing to commit that type of capital in an extension.
“I definitely would be a little disappointed, but business is business, sometimes you don’t get exactly what you want, or things don’t happen the way you planned,” Collins said on Monday on the possibility of not reaching an extension agreement. “But I was planning on playing all of these games, these 72 games, that are coming up this year anyway, so that’s just going to be the plan is to just lock in on those and make sure as the season’s over, I have the best ability to do whatever, in that case.”
Collins, the 19th pick of the 2017 draft, will certainly attract plenty of attention on the free agent market. He averaged 21.6 PPG and 10.1 RPG while shooting 40.1% on 3-pointers last season in 41 games.
How high the Hawks will go to keep him in restricted free agency could hinge on his defensive improvement, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic. Collins has proven to be an offensive force and will be even more dangerous if he improves his ball-handling. But his long-term fit with Trae Young is in question since he hasn’t legitimized himself yet as a rim protector and perimeter defender, Kirchner notes.
Collins could theoretically be the centerpiece of a deal to acquire another star player, Kirchner adds.
The money he is asking for I would wait aswell. Collins thinks he’s a 4(but he’s really a 5) and they already have capela. If he proves that they can with him(at the 4) then yes I can see them paying him, but if not hawks should trade him or just let him walk in FA.
Not a max player but a good trade asset now …
Capella is limited offensively…has been neutralized in the conference finals before.
Capela needs to have an elite PG who can throw lobs to him, but he does run well on the fast break. Hopefully he finds a way to stay healthy or his career may be cut short.
But Christian Wood is still an upgrade over Capela for Houston.
Yup. 80% of what Cousins was is also better.
Yeah hard decision, Collins get stats but that doesn’t result in wins.
Max Scale extensions typically go to those that are all stars or very close (Brandon Ingram is a perfect example) or that are the fave of their franchise and are trying to lease their team to the playoffs (DeAaron Fox is an example).
Collins is not an all star level player yet, nor is he the face of his franchise or trying to lead them to the playoffs that’s Trae Young.
Collins will most likely get a max deal in FA and it’ll be Upto the Hawks to match it which won’t be an easier decision. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Collins traded before then so they don’t have to make the call.
Maybe John Collins for Lauri Markeneen and a pair of second rounders
Maybe John Collins for Jarrett Culver and a protected future first
Maybe John Collins for Micheal Porter Jr
The thing about waiting is that it’s a lose-lose for the team.
If the player does OK or better this season, at least one rival team sees a chance to get talent with an overpay. Either the team matches the overpay, or they lose the player.
If the player doesn’t play well, then the team can potentially save money…but who wants to pay a guy that doesn’t perform in a contract year?
A trade seems likely, now more than ever.
I dont follow your second option. If he doesnt play well, they arent committed to him. If they’re already on the hook for this year then the extension is irrelevant.
RE: 2nd option, my assumption is that he’s a good player.
If a good player has a bad contract year before restricted free agency, that can generate some savings…but it also makes you wonder if the guy isn’t so great.
Assuming teams talk to guys they really like about extensions, the best thing to do is get an extension done. Even if it means paying market rates. Better to do that than choose between matching a toxic offer or watching a guy you wanted in your longterm plans leave for nothing.
Hawks should just go all in…Trade the young players for a star and compete with Trae/Bogdan/Capela/Gallinari…how about a trade with Boston…Boston could use someone like Collins
Bogi, Trae, Capella, Gallinari and a another good player….
What do think how much winning games have this team? Shooting yes, IQ maybe, defense great problem. Cap Space…sytem error.
Atlanta will be not the new Orlando with 7-8 spots in the eastern conference and a sweep in the first round .
Sorry but Altlanta have a terrible offeseason and a Collins Trade makes this to a horrible Season
The hornets could use Collins for sure…
That’s the thing, every team could use him. How to put a number to that
If Collins is insisting on a max deal, then it makes sense for the Hawks to wait. If he isn’t, then it doesn’t.
As a rising RFA, I don’t see a vibrant trade market for him this season. An acquiring team would have to be willing to max him (if needed) or value him as a potential rental.