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A lot of noise has been made about the Sacramento Kings this season. Aside from firing Mike Brown after a 13-18 start to the year, All-Star guard De'Aaron Fox is now the focus of conversations leading up to the Feb. 6 NBA trade deadline. However, on top of all the drama, the Kings are still exploring the trade market for ways to improve, leading them to serious talks with the Utah Jazz about big man John Collins, league sources told ClutchPoints.
The Kings have been browsing the trade market for frontcourt help over the last several weeks. Collins, who the Jazz have made available, is an athletic frontcourt option who has put together a very respectable season to this point. His athleticism and rebounding abilities are what make him a viable secondary option next to Fox, Domantas Sabonis, and DeMar DeRozan.
Kings, Jazz talk John Collins trade
Even before Brown was fired by the Kings on Dec. 27, this organization had been searching for high-level upgrades with the mindset of leveraging Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles, sources said. These two players combine to make $24.8 million this season, creating a wide margin for the Kings to search the trade market with.
Collins emerged as their top trade target in recent weeks, sources said. The Kings and Jazz held extensive trade conversations about Collins and came up with the framework for a potential deal ahead of the deadline. Sacramento's interest in Collins has also been reported by NBA insider Marc Stein.
Along with packaging Huerter and Lyles, a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick would have been going to the Jazz, sources said. Utah had been seeking a first-round pick for Collins and was willing to accept such from Sacramento with little protection on it. All that was needed was a formal agreement from both sides, but ultimately, conversations were put on hold in the final steps of negotiations.
It is unknown at this time if the two teams will revisit talks on Collins ahead of Thursday's trade deadline.
In a total of 28 games this season with the Jazz, Collins has averaged 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per game while shooting 53.1 percent from the floor and a career-high 44.6 percent from three-point range. The 27-year-old power forward is in the fourth year of a five-year, $125 million contract he originally signed with the Atlanta Hawks in 2021. He owns a $26.6 million player option for the 2025-26 season.
Due to the impact that he can make offensively right away in Sacramento and not tying up the organization's financials long-term, Collins would make a lot of sense for the Kings to have in their backcourt. Sabonis and Lyles are currently the Kings' only center options, with veteran Alex Len being out of the rotation.
Collins has missed a slew of games for the Jazz in recent weeks due to an undisclosed illness. Many of Utah's players have been held out of the lineup as of late ahead of the trade deadline due to various ailments. It is worth mentioning that Collins is expected to return and play on Thursday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves for just the second time since playing on Jan. 4 against the Miami Heat.
The only game Collins has played since this matchup with the Heat was on Jan. 22 against the Oklahoma City Thunder, when he had a team-high 22 points and 12 rebounds in 26 minutes.
A lot of uncertainty faces the Kings heading into this season's trade deadline. After failing to strike a deal for Collins, more speculation continues to grow regarding Fox's immediate future as the face of the franchise.
