The Hawks have opened up “preliminary” trade talks with teams about forward John Collins, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports. Collins is in the second year of a five-year, $125 million contract extension that he signed in the 2021 offseason.
While Collins has reportedly been on the trade block for a bit, including parts of last season, the Hawks haven’t come close to dealing him. After averaging over 16 points in each of the previous four seasons, Collins is averaging just 12.6 points in 15 games to start this year.
Collins has spent his entire career with the Hawks since Atlanta drafted him in the first round in 2017. The forward had established himself as the team emerged out of its rebuild, starting in all but two games since the 2018-19 season.
