John Collins Rumors: Hawks Offered 5-Year, $125M Contract to Restricted Free Agent
August 3, 2021
The Atlanta Hawks have offered restricted free agent forward John Collins a five-year, $125 million extension, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
The Hawks offered Collins a four-year, $90 million extension prior to the season, per Amick, which he turned down in hopes of landing a max deal in free agency. It's unclear how likely that is this time around without another team signing Collins to an offer sheet. Atlanta would have an opportunity to match that offer as well.
Amick shared more details on Atlanta's latest offer:
"This deal, if accepted, would not only be substantially more than what he was offered previously but would be the biggest yet on the 2021 free-agency market from a lump sum standpoint (Chris Paul’s $120 million deal with Phoenix would be second). In terms of average annual salary, the $25 million figure would be the third-highest (behind Paul’s $30 million and Kyle Lowry’s $30 million with Miami; Utah’s Mike Conley would be right behind Collins at $24.1 million).
"That’s some big-time cheddar for a player who averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in the regular season, 13.8 points and 9.5 rebounds in the playoffs and—to his credit—was a pivotal piece of the team that shocked us all by getting to the East finals. It’s nowhere near the max deal that Trae Young finalized on Monday night, or that Collins himself could receive, but it’s still very substantial."
On Monday, Young agreed to a rookie max extension worth up to $207 million over five years.
Amick noted only the Oklahoma City Thunder and San Antonio Spurs have enough cap space to offer Collins the type of money he's seeking, though there's no indication either team is interested in him at the moment.
Neither team looks ready to contend in the Western Conference, either. The Thunder had the second-worst record in the West last season at 22-50, while the Spurs were bounced in the play-in tournament after going 33-39.
In Atlanta, Collins finds himself as part of the team's core rotation alongside Clint Capela, Danilo Gallinari and Onyeka Okongwu in the frontcourt. During a surprise run to the Eastern Conference Finals—where the Hawks were eliminated in six games by the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks—Atlanta proved itself as one of the top contenders in the league. With a young core, that could be the case for years to come.
The team has already offered Collins $125 million to be a part of that run for at least the next five seasons. It may be difficult for anyone to offer him a better deal than that.