Jazz reportedly to acquire forward Collins from Hawks

The Utah Jazz are finalising a deal to acquire forward John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday.

Atlanta will receive veteran forward Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick in the NBA Draft as it sheds the remaining money owed to Collins - $78.5 million over the next three seasons.

The Hawks selected Collins with the 19th overall pick in the 2017 draft, and he earned second-team All-Rookie honours in 2017-18.

Collins signed a five-year, $125 million contract before the 2021-22 campaign.

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

The 6-foot-9 Collins averaged 15.8 points and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 55.1 percent from the field in 364 games, including 313 starts, over six seasons with Atlanta.

Gay, 36, appeared in 56 games for Utah in 2022-23, his 17th season in the NBA. He averaged 5.2 points and 2.9 rebounds in 14.6 minutes per game.