NBA
According to league reports, the Brooklyn Nets have had a ‘longstanding interest’ in Atlanta’s John Collins
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin has been a fan of the NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is watching sports and being able to share that through his sports writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became an NBA News Writer, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
All posts by Zach WolpinUpdated15 Jun 2023
At the end of June, the free agency period will begin and the NBA offseason will start heating up. Players will have the chance to test their value across the market. Front offices will also look to add pieces to continue to build their rosters. According to league reports, the Brooklyn Nets have had a ‘longstanding interest’ in Atlanta’s John Collins. It was apparent last season that the Nets were lacking size from their frontcourt players.
Sources have reported that the Nets may have been interested in trading for Collins at the deadline. However, they were busy accommodating the trade requests from Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Last season with the Hawks, Collins had one of his worst years as a pro.
One of the biggest obstacles in a trade for Brooklyn is trying to find a suitor for Ben Simmons. The Nets made a trade for the three-time all-star at the 2021-22 trade deadline. He’s barely played for Brooklyn and Simmons is someone that they want to detach themselves from. Swapping Collins and himself in a trade along with another player or two could be enough for Atlanta to let him go.
The Brooklyn Nets have had a ‘longstanding interest’ in John Collins, per @NetsDaily pic.twitter.com/yJ9DskWGSs
— NBACentral (@TheNBACentral) June 15, 2023
The Nets could reportedly go after John Collins this summer in hopes of making a trade
While there may not be a number of teams lining up to trade for Ben Simmons, Atlanta is a realistic destination for him. The Hawks already have solid offensive pieces in Trae Young and Dejounte Murray. Their teams need to add defensive-minded players like Simmons.
As for Collins, he could carve out a nice role for the Nets if he were traded to Brooklyn. The Nets are still building after letting Durant and Irving go at last year’s trade deadline. John Collins would be a solid addition to their frontcourt alongside Nic Claxton.
Brooklyn wouldn’t need Collins to be a 20-point-per-game scorer like he was in the past. They need his intensity and effort on the glass. In his best seasons as a pro, Collins averaged (21.6) points and (10.1) rebounds per game. That’s why a team like the Nets still believes that Collins has that potential in him.
