Jazz already looking to flip big offseason trade acquisition

The Utah Jazz are already looking to move on from their John Collins experiment despite acquiring him via trade in the offseason. According to Marc Stein, via his Stein Line newsletter (paid subscription required,) Collins and the Jazz "have not clicked" since the trade. 

"Utah traded for Collins in July at minimal cost but the parties, to put it charitably, have not clicked," Stein reported. "The question: Will the Jazz have any greater success in finding a workable trade than Atlanta did? Collins' name, remember, circulated at multiple trade deadlines — before and after the five-year, $125 million contract he eventually landed — until the Hawks finally salary-dumped him to the Jazz for a future second-round draft pick."

At his best, Collins, 26, is a high-flying forward who can pressure the rim and space the floor out to the three-point line. He can operate as a screen-and-roll guy, a screen-and-pop threat and can even be used in ally-oop plays when the defense breaks down. Utah, though, has not seen that version of Collins. Instead, he has stuttered out of the gates, and it would appear his tenure in Salt Lake City may be short-lived.

In the 31 games this season, Collins is averaging 13.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists, shooting 47.6% from the field and 37.3% from three-point range. Yet, he is averaging a career-low -3.5 in estimated plus/minus, which tracks how many points better, or worse, a team is with him on the floor while also factoring in a leaguewide scale that has been regulated to 0.

Teams around the NBA may be reluctant to trade for Collins. Being made available so soon after being acquired via trade isn't a good look. It's made worse when you consider how long the Hawks were attempting to move him during his tenure in Atlanta. And when you factor in his five-year, $125 million contract, which he has two more years on after this season, it's easy to see why the Hawks chose to salary dump his contract this summer.

The Jazz believed they were getting a steal when they added Collins. Things haven't worked out; sometimes that happens. However, now they face an uphill battle to find a buyer for a player who has been on a downward spiral for the past two seasons.  

Still, you can't argue against the Jazz taking a risk. If Collins had worked out, their frontcourt would be ferocious. Instead, they will be trying to move off his contract and looking at ways to continue improving. That's the nature of the NBA trade market.