June 29, 2018

John Collins
PF/C - 6’10, 235lbs - 20 years old - 1 year of experience

Likeable, exciting, energetic, and with more than a dollop of skill, too. Collins was one of the few highlights of the season, a capable athletic young big with stretch potential (there have been enough early results from mid-range shooting, however inefficient at this stage, to assume it will develop in the future) who plays nicely into the new NBA big man orthodoxy. Plenty willing and able to run, board and dunk everything from day one, Collins slowly earned greater responsibility and demonstrated greater discipline on the court, limiting the mistakes with the ball, fouling less and being allowed to attempt more than zero live dribbles per week.

The hard work starts now. Collins does not rebound on the defensive end as well as one of his speed and length should do, and although he is a willing defender who tries to rotate properly, he does not always do so. Collins looked to be a pretty good passer and solid playmaker by the end of the season, yet he lacks for a back to the basket game, and while it probably better behoves his future to be a catch-on-the-move roller, rim runner, lob catcher and spot-up shooter, he could stand to get into better position for all of these plays more consistently.

That said, as rookie seasons go, this was a good one. Whatever future the Hawks have, and however long they take to get back to contending, Collins looks already to be a long-term piece of it. The positive from Dedmon’s potential departure is that Collins can take up the five spot full time in his absence. By this time next year, if his quick development over the course of this season is anything to go by, he could be quite far along.

Player Plan: Three years of rookie scale salary remaining. Keep, develop, feature in plans.

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