The John Collins saga in Atlanta finally came to an end this offseason. The former Hawks power forward had been mentioned in trade rumors relentlessly for going on three years, but after a couple of underwhelming seasons, the front office finally ripped the band-aid off, sending him to the Jazz for Rudy Gay and a measly second-round pick.
It was an unfortunate result for the Hawks. A couple of years ago, they could have gotten multiple first-round picks and young talent in return for Collins’ services. Instead, they waited far too long and essentially ended up moving him in a salary dump. It wasn’t the storybook ending either side was hoping for, but Collins is excited for the next stop on his NBA journey, joining an up-and-coming Jazz team that surprised some folks a year ago.
Ahead of the NBA season, teams across the league are participating in media days. The Hawks being one of them, but this isn’t about what anybody said today in Atlanta. This is regarding a slight jab John Collins appeared to throw at the Hawks during their media day in Utah.
https://twitter.com/TheDunkCentral/status/1708902312125616477
For his entire career in Atlanta, John Collins was a consummate professional. Despite being frustrated with his usage and being in the headlines constantly because of trade rumors, he never allowed it to affect the way he approached practice or the games. Collins was mature beyond his years, so these kinds of comments after the fact are a little discouraging.
There have been rumblings about turmoil within the organization behind the scenes for years now. For the most part, the Hawks have done a good job of not letting those issues come to the public light, but they did have a situation last year that ended in Travis Schlenk and Nate McMillan departing the organization. Something tells me a lot more of that could be on the horizon if the Hawks don’t improve their standing in the Eastern Conference, which doesn’t seem likely after making minimal additions to the roster this offseason.
Quin Snyder is the one glimmer of hope. He’s among the bright head coaches in the game and appeared to have a lasting impact on the team after he took over as head coach in the middle of the season, but he’s going to have his hands full keeping this group together if the Hawks start to underperform for the third year in a row.
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Photo: Melissa Tamez/Icon Sportswire
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