John Collins is the free agent target that no one is talking about. If he fails to reach an agreement with the Hawks, the Miami Heat should be on the phone with him immediately.
The Miami Heat have an apparent hole at the power forward position. Trevor Ariza and Kelly Olynyk played that position most for Miami last season, but neither were ever long-term solutions.
Collins is 23-years-old and coming off of an extremely impressive playoff run with the Hawks. He averaged 13.9 points and 8.7 rebounds, helping lead the Hawks to an unlikely Eastern Conference Finals appearance.
In the regular season, Collins averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds while shooting 55.6% from the field and 39.9% from deep. He’s a super underrated offensive talent that would pair beautifully next to Bam Adebayo.
One of the biggest knocks on Collins’ game is his lackluster defense. Putting him next to Adebayo, one of the league’s best defenders, would help cover up that hole in his game.
The power forward is set to enter restricted free agency this offseason after he declined a roughly $90 million contract extension. He was reportedly looking for a max contract.
While he may not get offers for that amount of money, Collins definitely increased his value this postseason. However, the Hawks might not end up matching many offers he receives.
Tony Ressler, the owner of the Hawks, made some very interesting comments regarding the roster. He implied that the team would have to part ways with some of its core players this offseason due to financial reasons.
"“What we are trying to achieve is literally keeping our best players, as you could imagine, trying to make clear that we’re going to have to spend a lot more than we have this season. We fully expect that. I’m not sure we’re going to be able to keep every single player that we want to keep. Pretty good bet, pretty good assumption we will not.”"
With Trae Young being the centerpiece, Collins might be the odd man out in this regard. If the Hawks are looking to move forward without dipping into the tax, letting Collins go could be the answer.
The Miami Heat have the ability to free up a ton of cap space this summer, and Collins could be a great option to use it on. He’s young, super athletic, stretches the floor, and fills a position of need.
Signing Collins would establish one of the most promising young frontcourts in the NBA. The Miami Heat would be set up perfectly for the future while also improving their roster in an attempt to compete right now.