Multiple teams are expected to pursue the Los Angeles Clippers forward this summer, and the competition looks steep heading into free agency.
John Collins is heading into free agency after finishing the final season of a five-year deal he originally signed with the Atlanta Hawks, and for the first time in his nine-year career, the 28-year-old power forward gets to choose where he plays next.
Collins spent this past year in Los Angeles after being traded from Utah in a three-team deal last July, and while he fit well alongside Kawhi Leonard and the rest of the Clippers' roster, there is genuine uncertainty about whether he will return.
Several Teams Have Emerged as Suitors
ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel recently reported that the Timberwolves had been linked to Collins earlier this offseason, but Minnesota's trade for LaMelo Ball limits what they can offer him financially.
That has not stopped other teams from circling.
Siegel reported that the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs are the two teams most frequently brought up in league circles as suitors for Collins.
The Bulls finished 31-51 this past season and recently drafted Caleb Wilson with the fourth overall pick, so bringing in a veteran forward who can score, rebound, and stretch the floor next to that young core makes sense for where Chicago is headed.
San Antonio went 62-20 and already has a deep roster built around Victor Wembanyama, but pairing Collins as a lob threat alongside Wembanyama and De'Aaron Fox would give the Spurs another weapon in what is already one of the most dangerous frontcourts in the West.
Siegel also noted that the Philadelphia 76ers should not be ruled out since the Sixers finished 45-37 and still have access to their full mid-level exception.
At roughly $16 million, that exception gives Philadelphia enough room to make a real push for Collins.
Why the Clippers Should Try to Bring Him Back
Collins averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game on 55.2 percent shooting from the field and a career-best 40.6 percent from three in 69 games this season, and those numbers showed how naturally he fit into what the Clippers were doing.
His ability to space the floor while still finishing at the rim made things easier for the players around him on both ends, and replacing that type of two-way versatility in free agency is not going to be simple.
The Clippers went 42-40 and were knocked out of the play-in by Golden State, and the team is now in the middle of reshaping its identity.
They drafted Keaton Wagler fifth overall and already have Darius Garland and Bennedict Mathurin as young building blocks going forward.
But losing Collins would leave a real hole in the frontcourt, especially beside Kawhi Leonard, who put up 27.9 points per game in 65 games during what might have been his best healthy season in years.
Collins sits in a valuable spot between veteran experience and athletic prime, and the Clippers could use someone like that to hold things together while the rest of the roster continues to take shape.
