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The Atlanta Hawks have been shopping John Collins since almost the moment he signed a contract extension in summer 2021. Now that they’ve undergone significant turnover in the front office, though, the Hawks are taking a much different approach to finding the talented big man a new NBA home.
As the February 9th trade deadline fast approaches, Atlanta has instructed Collins and his representation to “do their own searching” for a potential trade partner, according to league insider Marc Stein.
The Hawks re-assigned team president and former head personnel decision-maker Travis Schlenk in December, promoting general manager Landry Fields to the top of the front office pecking order. It was also reported this week that director of business and basketball operations Nick Ressler, the 27-year-old son of owner Tony Ressler, has garnered increased influence in recent months over Atlanta’s roster and staffing moves, especially in wake of its managerial shakeup.
The team’s asking price for Collins has reportedly “declined significantly” compared to previous seasons.
Collins, for his part, seems ready to move on from the Hawks, but stressed in an interview with The Athletic earlier this week that his main concern is simply playing basketball—not where he’s doing it.
“I play basketball every day, you know what I mean? I come in and I play basketball, and whatever happens, happens because I don’t control that side,'” he told Sam Amick. “I don’t have any control over any decisions that get made, where I am and where I play. I don’t have any control over that. I can say, ‘Hey, I want to do this and I wanna do that,’ and they can just do whatever they feel is fair.”
John Collins will apparently have much more say on where his career goes from here than initially anticipated. Expect to frequently hear his name in trade rumors leading up to the deadline, with Collins likely playing for a new team after February 9th.