At the moment, John Collins is still a member of the Atlanta Hawks. This could change in the coming weeks, though, with the 25-year-old once again being linked to a move away from Atlanta ahead of the February trade deadline. The Miami Heat have now emerged as a possible landing spot for Collins.

An anonymous Eastern Conference executive recently talked about Miami's chances of landing Collins, who himself has been rumored to be on the radar of a handful of teams around the NBA. According to the unnamed exec, Miami faces a tough battle in their desire to bring the 6-foot-9 power forward to South Beach:

“John Collins, too, the Heat are one of the teams watching that situation, but they probably need more young assets to send back,” the source told Sean Deveney of heavy.com. “Everyone talks about the Lakers’ 2027 pick but (Miami’s 2027 pick) is one that the Heat can trade as well, and there is a lot of value being placed on that pick because you can imagine them hitting a bottom around then. Is it enough to help them get Collins? Probably not but it is a good asset for them.”

The Heat are supposedly in the market for a “dirty work kind of guy,” states another NBA executive. They lost PJ Tucker during the offseason, and their decision not to replace him with a similar type of player may have played a significant role in their up-and-down season thus far. John Collins does fit the bill as a “dirty work” type of bruiser and it just feels like he would be a great fit alongside the likes of Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo.

The Heat may not be the frontrunners for Collins right now, but as we've seen in the past, team president Pat Riley has a way of making the improbable happen. Miami should not be ruled out of the Collins race by any means.