Hawks' John Collins Reportedly Out at Least 2 Weeks With Ankle Injury

The Atlanta Hawks will reportedly be without forward John Collins for the immediate future.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Collins suffered a left ankle sprain during Wednesday's victory over the Orlando Magic and will miss "a minimum of two weeks." He underwent tests Thursday that revealed the extent of the setback.

There has been no shortage of trade rumors surrounding Collins this season, but this injury means the Hawks likely won't be dealing him until he returns and proves he is healthy ahead of the stretch run.

Perhaps they won't move him at all as they attempt to make noise in the Eastern Conference race.

Atlanta is 12-10 and in sixth place in the early Eastern Conference standings, which is just ahead of the cutoff for the play-in tournament. It may be difficult to tread water without Collins for the next couple of weeks, but there are other options in the frontcourt.

Look for the Hawks to rely even more on Clint Capela, while Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson will likely see more playing time.

Still, replacing Collins will not be an easy task.

He is a double-double threat every time he steps on the floor and is averaging 12.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game behind 48.4 percent shooting from the field. The numbers are a step below when he posted 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds a night in 2019-20, but he is still one of the team's most dangerous threats when he is playing at his best.

The Hawks are just 1-3 in their last four games and will look to turn things around without Collins on Friday against the Denver Nuggets.