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The Utah Jazz are not having a terrific season, to say the least. But they can be one of the most talked-about teams heading into the NBA trade deadline in February, with star forward John Collins already becoming an intriguing Utah asset that many view has a good chance of being moved.
“The leaguewide presumption about the Jazz nonetheless persists that Collins — like fellow veterans Jordan Clarkson and Collin Sexton — is a prime candidate to be dealt between now and the Feb. 6 trade deadline by Jazz CEO Danny Ainge,” NBA insider Marc Stein wrote.
“Collins, though, learned how to cope with such chatter and uncertainty through numerous transactional cycles after landing his Atlanta deal and, to his credit, has been a source of consistency (and efficiency) for a team that is known to be prioritizing draft position above all this season as Utah plots its course to build out a sustainable core around star forward Lauri Markkanen,” added Stein.
Collins, who was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the Jazz in 2023 in exchange for Rudy Gay and a second-round pick in 2026, is earning $26.58 million in the 2024-25 NBA season. He has a player option worth the same amount in the 2025-26 season, though, he has yet to exercise that privilege.
John Collins is having a solid season amid NBA trade noise
Regardless of the trade noise swirling around his name, Collins is consistently providing solid performances for the Jazz, who entered Sunday's game against the Los Angeles Lakers with just four wins through 15 games. Prior to the Lakers game, Collins is averaging 17.8 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.8 blocks while shooting 53.5 percent from the floor.
He is still not a real threat from behind the arc, as he's taking just 2.8 attempts from behind the arc per game, but Collins is a big asset for Utah on both ends of the floor. In Utah's first 19 games, Collins was tied with Lauri Markkanen in terms of win shares (1.4) while ranked first on the team with a 21.2 player efficiency rating.
At 27 years old, Collins has plenty of prime seasons in front of him, but the Jazz appear to have considerable interest in trading the former Wake Forest Demon Deacons star rather than keeping him as part of the franchise's ongoing rebuild.
Collins arrived in the NBA in 2017 when the Hawks selected him 19th overall in the first round of that year's NBA draft.
