The unthinkable has happened: John Collins has finally been traded

After literally years in the rumor mill, the Hawks finally ship off Collins for ... a player they probably won't keep and a pick they might not use.

Good morning. Let’s basketball.

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Red and White; Edvard Munch; 1899-1900

The Atlanta Hawks shopped John Collins so long that eventually a new labor deal created an environment in which contracts like the one the Hawks gave Collins in 2021 — solid money for a starter-level player — are seen as undesirable. So instead of the wild packages that had been discussed in past years involved first round picks and prospects, the Hawks ended up trading Collins to the Utah Jazz for Rudy Gay, who turns 37 before the next season begins, and a future second round pick.

Gay makes around $6 million and his contract expires at the end of 2023-24. The Hawks may just waive him before the season, though having cool veterans around might also not be a bad thing, and Gay previously played under Quin Snyder in Utah in the 2021-22 season. But the real key here is this, from Woj’s ESPN story linked above:

For Atlanta, the acquisition of Gay -- who exercised his $6.4 million player option for next season as part of the trade, his agent, Sam Permut of Roc Nation Sports, told ESPN -- allows the Hawks to drop far below the $182.5 million second apron and beneath the $165 million luxury tax threshold for the 2023-24 season.

Atlanta has a $25 million traded player exception (TPE) thanks to using Utah’s cap space to make this deal, but the jury’s way out on whether the Hawks will end up using it.

Before we look at how this gives us some clues on how Utah is approaching its reboot, let’s put the deal in the context of the offseason as a whole so far. Collins becomes the fourth eight-figure player to be traded for primarily salary cap reasons this summer after Jordan Poole, Davis Bertans and Richaun Holmes. Bertans, Holmes and Collins were traded into space or TPEs with negative assets (Bertans and Holmes) or low-level assets (Collins) coming back. Poole was dealt for a player on a much shorter deal 14 years his senior.

Of course, salary cap machinations being a primary driver for the trade market isn’t new. But it has taken a significant backseat to talent and draft consideration for about a decade. The new labor deal seems to be changing that, and making the salary cap the main focus again. It’s early, but it’s worth tracking.

Meanwhile, that Utah leapt into a trade for real veteran talent is pretty interesting given that they quietly folded in the race for a play-in spot just a couple of months ago. Collins is right around the same age as Lauri Markkanen and Collin Sexton, older than Walker Kessler and younger than Jordan Clarkson. I was interested to see how Snyder used Collins in Atlanta, but the fit is perhaps even more interesting with Will Hardy’s system in Utah.