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John Collins Trade Rumors: Timberwolves 'Dying' to Make Move for Hawks Star
March 12, 2021
The Minnesota Timberwolves are reportedly keen to acquire Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins.
On The Bill Simmons Podcast (19:30 mark), NBA writer Jackie MacMullan said the Timberwolves are "dying" to trade for the 23-year-old.
Minnesota's focus ahead of the March 25 trade deadline appears to be finding an upgrade at power forward.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported March 6 the T-Wolves have "shown interest" in Collins and Aaron Gordon of the Orlando Magic, but their respective teams have attached "significant asking prices" to them.
Collins may be intrigued by the possibility of playing with Minnesota's best player.
Darren Wolfson of SKOR North reported March 4 on his podcast The Scoop (h/t Lee Tran of Fadeaway World) that Collins finds the idea of playing alongside Karl-Anthony Towns "very enticing."
The Hawks hold the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, but their 17-20 record is a disappointment after they signed Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari as free agents.
Collins is eligible for restricted free agency this offseason. The Wake Forest alum is averaging 17.8 points on 53.2 percent shooting and 7.6 rebounds in 37 games this season.
Minnesota owns the NBA's worst record at 8-29. It's unclear what the team might offer in a trade. The Timberwolves' first-round selection in the 2021 NBA draft will go to the Golden State Warriors if it falls out of the top three picks as part of the D'Angelo Russell trade last February.