It’s safe to say that Hawks forward John Collins has been made available in trade talks. The same doesn’t necessarily seem true of Wizards forward Kyle Kuzma — but he has made it clear he intends to become a free agent after the season.
Could the teams swap the players and try to turn it into a win for everyone? That was a question posed by Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype.
As we relayed here, the Hawks have talked Collins trade with several teams and reportedly took part in a potential three-team deal that also involved the Suns and Jazz.
“A swap involving (Collins and Kuzma) could be mutually beneficial: the Wizards would get a replacement for Kuzma who is under contract for an additional three seasons while the Hawks would land a slightly cheaper option at the four,” Gozlan wrote. “A third team may need to be involved to take on extra money since it’ll be tough to complete a deal with matching salaries while keeping both franchises under the luxury tax.”
One thing Hoops Wire sources have indicated repeatedly is that it is believed Collins will in fact be traded ahead of the February trade deadline. As one rival GM suggested, there’s been too much noise surrounding Collins for the Hawks to keep him.
Kuzma, however, is a different story.
The Wizards have been hoping to build around Kuzma, star shooting guard Bradley Beal and forward/center Kristaps Porzingis. Those are supposedly the pieces they would like to keep — then add talent alongside those “centerpieces.”
But with Collins a talent in his own right, and the Wizards unsure of Kuzma’s status, you would think a deal involving both wouldn’t be out of the question. Right now, it’s mere speculation, but given the circumstances surrounding both players … well, you just never know.
“Internally, however, Kuzma is considered, ‘a big part of the future’ for the Wizards,” HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto quoted a source as saying. “The Wizards believe they’re a more talented team than the record has shown to this point.”
More must-reads: