Boston Celtics: 2 trades with the Atlanta Hawks for John Collins
By Mark Nilon
Boston Celtics trade No. 1) A mix of picks and youth
If the Boston Celtics are hell-bent on going against their 2019-20 mold and running a two-big system, they absolutely should consider bringing on John Collins.
Though Daniel Theis’ second season in the league may have convinced you he can serve as a reliable stretch-big (converted on 39 percent of his 3s), since then he has yet to recapture this success and, through 10 games, is shooting a measly 23.8 percent from deep.
Because of this, the combo of he and Tristan Thompson has created quite a logjam down low on offense and, in turn, has negatively impacted this aspect of the C’s game.
By adding Collins into the mix, they’d be inserting a guy with a career 3-point shooting percentage of 36 percent to go along with 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, and a block per game which, by all accounts, would allow the Celtics to effectively run their desired big-ball lineup.
In return, the Atlanta Hawks would bring on 2019 lottery-pick Romeo Langford who, despite an injury-plagued start to his career, still has upside due to his youth and what he’s shown both during his collegiate career as well as in limited spurts with the Cs during his rookie campaign.
They’d also receive Grant Williams which would certainly be a tough pill to swallow for fans as he’s proven himself to be a favorite amongst the team’s young prospects but, if the tradeoff is landing a guy like Collins who clearly has higher upside (averaging 17.9 points and 7.5 rebounds on 55 percent shooting this season), the pain of losing the 22-year-old would likely prove to be worth it in the end.
The cherry on top, of course, would be the three future picks — two firsts, one second –, which will come in handy given Atlanta’s lack of selections over the next several seasons.