Jazz’s Updated Roster, Starting Lineup, Salary Cap After John Collins Trade

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A year ago, the Utah Jazz took a risk on a talented young forward at the nadir of his value and immediately turned Lauri Markkanen into an All-Star.

They’ll hope lightning strikes twice after agreeing Monday to acquire John Collins from the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for Rudy Gay and a second-round pick, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

The move is effectively a salary dump for the Hawks, who duck well below the luxury-tax threshold and acquire a $25.3 million trade exception as part of the deal. Atlanta had been shopping Collins for much of the last two years, with Wojnarowski noting the Hawks and Jazz have been discussing a deal for more than a year themselves.

Utah was not expected to be a major player in free agency and will instead use some of its cap space to add Collins, who is owed $78.5 million over the next three seasons. The Jazz were slated to have $43.9 million in practical cap space this summer, but that number will now go down to around $25.1 million.

Collins is coming off a down season in which he averaged just 13.1 points, 6.5 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game.

2023-24 Utah Jazz Projected Starting Lineup

PG: Collin SextonSG: Jordan Clarkson (player option)SF: Lauri MarkkanenPF: John CollinsC: Walker Kessler

The decision to add Collins is a bit curious given the Jazz just used the No. 9 pick in Thursday’s NBA draft on forward Taylor Hendricks. Utah’s rotation now includes Collins, Hendricks, Markkanen and Kelly Olynyk, with the latter likely being the odd man out.

Only $3 million of Olynyk’s $12.2 million salary for next season is guaranteed, so it’s possible the Jazz waive him by June 28 for added cap flexibility. However, Olynyk’s a good role player on a reasonable contract; it’s more likely Utah holds onto him past his guarantee date and attempts to extract some value from a contender.

Collins was seemingly on the brink of borderline stardom when he averaged 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 40.1 percent from three in 2019-20. He’s subsequently seen his per-game averages, shot attempts and shooting splits take a nosedive each of the past three seasons.

The Hawks essentially relegated him to fifth-option status in 2022-23, which resulted in Collins’ worst production since his rookie season. Either he’s markedly regressed as a player in his mid-20s, or Atlanta’s usage of him in the offense has created a major issue that will be rectified by a change of scenery.

The Jazz are banking on the latter.