NBA Trades: 3 John Collins trades to help the Atlanta Hawks: Sacramento Kings
Hawks receive: Harrison Barnes, 2024 1st-Round Pick
Kings receive: John Collins
This deal would accomplish a few different things for the Hawks. They would replace Collins at power forward, free up cap space for next summer, and recoup a first-round pick.
Having Barnes fill Collins’ spot in the starting lineup would be a great replacement. In fact, some could argue that Barnes would be a better fit.
He’s more versatile on the defensive end, meaning he would be able to guard the perimeter at a higher level than Collins. Plus, his three-point shooting is more reliable.
The Hawks would also get a first-round pick in return for Collins, which would help them start to stock up on firsts after they just traded all of theirs away for Murray.
Lastly, they would free up some cap space for next offseason. Barnes is on the last year of his deal, while Collins is under contract through the 2025-26 season.
Meanwhile, the Kings would be adding a third core piece to their young core of De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis. He could get in the way of Keegan Murray’s development, but Collins is the far better player right now.
Adding Collins to the roster would help the Kings compete for the playoffs for years to come, and as has been mentioned time and time again, that is their end goal.