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Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks didn’t make any moves at the 2020 NBA trade deadline, but quite a few rumors involved the team still floated around.
Some teams inquired about Spencer Dinwiddie and the Houston Rockets reached out about DeAndre Jordan. Turns out the Nets contacted the New Orleans Pelicans about Jrue Holiday, though that didn’t surface until recently.
But there was a report involving the Nets reaching out to a team that did surface right around the 2020 deadline. Brooklyn contacted the Atlanta Hawks about John Collins.
Of course, nothing came of the deal in the end. However, it’s something Alex Schiffer and John Hollinger of The Athletic think is worth revisiting — because Collins was among the recent targets mentioned among their trade ideas for the Nets.
“Collins would be a good fit at power forward to complement DeAndre Jordan down low and would give the Nets a post player who can hit 3s and guard stretch-forwards, which they need badly,” Schiffer said. “Collins missed 25 games last season after violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, but doesn’t have a worrisome injury history. A trade like the one above would deplete the depth behind Jordan, but new coach Steve Nash could get creative with Collins and use him as a smaller center in a five-out lineup.”
In The Athletic’s deal for Collins, Brooklyn would have to give up Jarrett Allen, Rodions Kurucs and the 2020 first-round pick the Nets received from the Philadelphia 76ers. Hollinger also mentioned Dinwiddie could be involved instead of the pick.
If the deal involved Dinwiddie, that’s too high a price. While Allen has quite a bit of upside, especially with Amar’e Soutdemire now on the coaching staff, Collins has been able to take greater advantage of his chance to grow in Atlanta. Allen can still be part of the solution in Brooklyn, but this has the makings of a good move for the Nets.
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