Trades in the NBA keep coming through ahead of NBA free agency next month, with the Atlanta Hawks and Utah Jazz being the latest to strike up a deal that made headlines on Monday afternoon.
Over the past few years, forward John Collins has been mentioned frequently as a player the Hawks were hoping to trade in order to bring back multiple assets to improve their team.
Although the Hawks sold incredibly low on Monday, the team was finally able to move Collins as they have agreed to send him to Salt Lake City, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
ESPN Sources: The Hawks are finalizing a trade to send F/C John Collins to the Jazz for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick. Atlanta’s largely unloading Collins’ three years, $78M for some roster building flexibility and alignment with looming changes to salary cap. pic.twitter.com/CpAfTNXKMq
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 26, 2023
This was an interesting move by both teams, as it adds another star to a stacked frontcourt in Utah which is led by Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler, while the Hawks basically shed salary with the team getting little in return for arguably their second-best player.
It’ll be interesting to see what the Hawks do moving forward, as there have been some Trae Young rumors floating around, even though the team has supposedly denied that they are considering moving the face of the franchise.
As for the Jazz, Utah is starting to come together as a potential force to be reckoned with in the Western Conference, as that new-look frontcourt is as imposing as any in the league right now.
Kessler proved himself to be an upgrade over Rudy Gobert while Markkanen has finally started to live up to expectations and could be the team’s best player heading into what could be a promising future in Salt Lake City.
NEXT: The Jazz Are Joining A New Trend That Is Great For Fans
