Hawks Dump John Collins' Massive $78 Million Salary in Trade With Jazz

(Photo : Todd Kirkland/Getty Images) ATLANTA, GA - John Collins (#20) of the Atlanta Hawks slams during the first half against the Utah Jazz at State Farm Arena on November 4, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Atlanta Hawks are the latest team to bow down to the new salary cap rules as they decided to offload John Collins and $78 million.

In return, the Hawks will get journeyman Rudy Gay who exercised his $6.4 million player option, and a second-round draft pic.

The trade was first reported by ESPN.

"ESPN Sources: The Hawks are finalizing a trade to send F/C John Collins to the Jazz for Rudy Gay and a future second-round pick. Atlanta's largely unloading Collins' three years, $78M for some roster building flexibility and alignment with looming changes to salary cap," NBA insider Adrian Wojnarowski wrote on Twitter.

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A win-win trade?

The Collins salary is just one of the many wheeling and dealing Hawks need to do to meet the salary cap rules.

The current NBA salary cap is $136 million max. Teams can step on the luxury tax threshold of $165 million. Hawks' current cap space is still at -$23.5 million. The three largest contracts with the team after Collins's departure are Trae Young's, Clint Capela's, and DeAndre Hunter's.

As for the Jazz, the acquisition allow them to beef up their frontcourt in a league dominated by big men. They now have reinforcement for Lauri Markannen and the young Walker Kessler to make an honest run at the playoffs without spending that much.

The Jazz also got sophomore Ochai Agbaji and 2023 No. 9 overall pick Taylor Hendricks who both have 7-foot wingspans.

Collins is a serviceable big man. He averaged 13.1 points and six rebounds for the Hawks last season.

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