John Collins could remain with the Atlanta Hawks through the Feb. 9 trade deadline despite frequently being mentioned in trade rumors.
Hawks president of basketball operations Landry Fields "has made clear to rival executives that the team views Collins as a valued asset, not one the franchise will simply dump in any form," according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Matt Moore of Action Network reported the Hawks are "unlikely to trade John Collins under the new front office that took over this season."
This comes despite "strong interest" from the Utah Jazz, per Charania, with the Houston Rockets also involved in discussions.
The New Orleans Pelicans have also showed interest in adding Collins, per Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports.
Collins has often been featured in trade talks over the past few years, coinciding with his decline in production. The 25-year-old averaged a career-high 21.6 points per game in 2019-20, but his scoring has dropped in each subsequent season and he's averaging 13.5 points per game in 2022-23.
After signing a five-year, $125 million contract in 2021, the Hawks have seemingly wanted to cut their losses while giving the 6'9", 226-pound forward a fresh start in a new location.
Things have seemingly changed under the new front office, however.
Fields was promoted from assistant general manager to GM in June, while he took over as president of basketball operations in December after Travis Schlenk stepped down.
The Hawks entered Monday with a 25-25 record, good for eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Collins remains a valuable player despite his reduced offensive role. The Hawks are 5.2 points per 100 possessions better when he is on the court, the best mark on the team this season, per Basketball Reference.
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