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Forum nameOkay Sports
Topic subjectThey're gonna deal him.
Topic URLhttp://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=8&topic_id=2725295&mesg_id=2725960
2725960, They're gonna deal him.
Posted by Frank Longo, Sat Nov-21-20 02:59 PM
He'll need a big extension after this season, and I can't imagine a team with Trae Young as its cornerstone committing big money to build around a big man whose defense is, to put it mildly, not good.

He's a terrific offensive player, he's deadly in the PnR, and he's become a very good no-dribble catch-and-shoot 3 point option... I just struggle to see a world in which that becomes a winning team defensively when those are your best two players. Furthermore, considering Collins's 3 point percentage drops to under 10% when he dribbles the ball, the Hawks may feel last year's offensive performance looks better than where his actual offensive skills are.

Meanwhile, if Collins shot 40% from 3 on catch-and-shoot opps that Trae creates for him, imagine what Gallinari, a much better 3-point shooter on the whole than Collins, can do with that much space. At least that's what I imagine the Hawks are thinking.

Their draft picks and roster moves over the last year say to me, "We're building around Trae," which means two things:

1. Guys who can defend to make up for Trae. Capela, Okongwu, Dunn, and young guys with potential like Hunter, Reddish, Mays, and Khyri Thomas.
2. Guys who can shoot 3s to take advantage of the space Trae creates. Gallinari, Huerter, and, again, the young guys with potential to shoot like Hunter, Reddish, Mays, and Khyri Thomas.

Collins doesn't fit into category 1, and he's not skilled enough a 3 pointer shooter to justify the price they'd have to pay him to stay. Especially since they haven't figured out Trae's long term deal yet. So I imagine they'll try to find a suitor to exchange for picks and other win-in-the-next-two-years sorts of assets.