Rudy Gay was two years old when John Collins' name first appeared in a trade rumor.
That might be a slight embellishment, but Collins has been on the block seemingly forever for the Hawks. He finally got moved prior to the start of 2023 free agency, heading over to the Jazz in a package involving Gay and a future second-round draft pick, per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Here's how the trade grades out for both teams.
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John Collins-Rudy Gay trade details
Jazz receive:
- John Collins
Hawks receive:
- Rudy Gay
- Future second-round pick
John Collins-Rudy Gay trade grades
Jazz trade grade: A
Collins was a good player once upon a time, averaging 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds on 58.3 percent shooting from the field and 40.1 percent from 3 during the 2019-20 season.
All of those numbers have dropped year-over-year since then. Collins saw a reduction in his role, dropping to the fifth option for the Hawks last season.
Collins' confidence also looked shaken at times, and he admitted that the constant trade rumors were affecting him mentally.
John Collins on if trade rumors had affected his play: "I never like to think it does, but I always think in some way it probably is subconsciously. It’s never at the front of my mind. I’m never going into a game thinking something’s holding me back, but I’m only human."
— Steph Noh (@StephNoh) February 10, 2023
Collins is moving to a much better situation in Utah. Trae Young controlled the entire offense in Atlanta, putting Collins at his mercy. The Jazz's situation is much more egalitarian. He fits well with their five-out offense, where he can spread the floor from outside and make quick decisions when he does have the ball.
Collins will also benefit from the grab-and-go system that the Jazz employ. He's a good transition player and a nice athlete that will make them even more dangerous from that perspective.
Collins has turned himself into a much better defender than he's given credit for too, particularly as an interior defender and helper. He gives the Jazz some size to switch through their rotation.
This is a great buy-low trade for the Jazz. The asking price was minimal, they had cap space to go take a flyer on a talent like Collins and he is a great candidate to improve because of how horrendous his fit was in Atlanta.
Hawks trade grade: C-
This was a pure salary dump for the Hawks. They saw the writing on the wall with the new harsher penalties under the incoming collective bargaining agreement and finally took whatever they could get to move Collins' $78 million in remaining salary over the next three years off their books.
Gay probably isn't going to play much for the Hawks. He will be entering his age-37 season and averaged just under 15 minutes for the Jazz last year, turning in one of the worst seasons of his career. His 47.5 percent true shooting ranked in the bottom four percent of the league.
This was a case of the Hawks waiting too long to pull the trigger on Collins. He kept on looking worse and worse in their system, and his value plummeted. This is the second summer where they've lost a good player for minimal value due to poor cap management — Kevin Huerter was a casualty last season, getting traded for pennies on the dollar to the Kings.
The Hawks did set themselves up for future moves, generating a $25.3 million trade exception that they can use to add a player down the line. If they can do something with that exception, then this trade grade will rise. But for now, this looks purely like a move to get rid of a player that they never utilized in order to duck below the luxury tax.
