Sources: Hawks trading Collins to Jazz for Gay

In a deal that delivers the franchise dramatic monetary flexibility, the Atlanta Hawks are buying and selling ahead John Collins to the Utah Jazzsources instructed ESPN on Monday.

The Hawks are buying ahead Rudy Gay and a future second-round choose for Collins, who’s owed $78 million over the subsequent three seasons, sources stated. The swap creates a $25.3 million commerce exception for the Hawks — the biggest within the NBA. Atlanta has a 12 months to probably use the exception to tackle a participant’s contract.

The commerce can not turn out to be official till July 6.

The deal to accumulate Collins, 25, brings the Jazz a flexible ahead to play on a entrance line with All-Star Lauri Markkanen and All-Rookie middle Walker Kessler. The Jazz have been an offensive revelation beneath first-year coach Will Hardy, and Collins’ arrival may assist Utah return to the Western Convention playoffs subsequent season.

The Hawks and Jazz have mentioned quite a few iterations of the deal for over a 12 months, however the realities of the looming adjustments within the league’s new collective bargaining settlement left the stability of Collins’ contract troublesome to maneuver for a return of belongings — just like the Golden State Warriors‘ latest unloading of Jordan Poole and the $130 million-plus owed him.

For Atlanta, the acquisition of Homosexual — who exercised his $6.4 million participant choice for subsequent season as a part of the commerce, his agent Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports activities instructed ESPN — permits the Hawks to drop far beneath the $182.5 million second apron and beneath the $165 million luxurious tax threshold for the 2023-24 season.

Nonetheless, the Hawks are anticipated to stay in deal-making mode this offseason, and possession has given common supervisor Landry Fields the OK to maneuver into the luxurious tax ought to it’s essential to enhance the roster, sources stated.

The departure of Collins additionally provides Atlanta a fuller alternative to navigate doable contract extensions for 3 younger core gamers: Dejounte Murray, Mr. Okongwu and Saddiq Bey.

Collins’ departure may even open up a possibility for ahead Jalen Johnson to tackle a extra outstanding position in his third season.

Positioning themselves beneath the NBA’s new second-apron tax degree forward of 2024 assures the Hawks that they will not be vulnerable to the punitive team-building provisions that might have severely hampered the franchise’s roster flexibility.

Collins is a Hawks success story, the nineteenth total choose in 2017 who become one of many Japanese Convention’s higher forwards. He averaged 15.8 factors and eight.0 rebounds per sport in six seasons with the Hawks, together with 13.1 factors and 6.5 rebounds in 2022-23.

Amongst gamers energetic in every of the previous six seasons, Collins is one in every of simply 5 to common 15 factors on 55%-plus capturing, in line with ESPN Stats & Data. The opposite 4 are Nikola Jokic, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Jonas Valančiūnas and Domantas Sabonis.

ESPN Entrance Workplace Insider Bobby Marks contributed to this report.