Sources said the Atlanta Hawks are trading starter John Collins to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The trade cannot be official until July 6th.
Atlanta Hawks trade John Collins to Utah Jazz
ESPN SOURCES: The Hawks are finalizing a deal to send F/C John Collins to the Jazz for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick. Atlanta has pretty much offloaded Collins on a three-year, $78 million contract for some roster-building flexibility and adjusting to looming changes in the salary cap. pic.twitter.com/CpAfTNXKMq
– Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2023
After appearing in trade talks for several years, Collins was finally dealt with another team.
By trading Collins to Utah, the Hawks now have the largest trade exclusion in the NBA at $25.3 million, which means they could potentially take out another player’s contract.
Collins signed a five-year, $125 million contract extension on August 6, 2021. He owes $78 million over the next three seasons.
With Collins off the roster, the Hawks are moving below the luxury tax threshold of $165 million for the 2023-24 season. However, Wojnarowski reports that Hawks general manager Landry Fields has been given approval to move to a luxury tax “if the roster needs to be improved.”
Jazz acquires a promising young player
As for Utah, they have acquired a promising young player in Collins for a decent deal.
Collins’ record is down in 2022-23 with 13.1 points, but the 6’9 forward is a career 15.8 points per game.
Collins joins the frontcourt that includes NBA All-Star Lauri Markkanen, who won Most Improved this past season, and NBA All-Rookie First-Team member Walker Kessler.
Projected to be one of the worst teams in the league, the Jazz have exceeded expectations in 2022-23 under first-year head coach Will Hardy. The Jazz won 37 games, and remained in Play-In contention for most of the season.