The Detroit Pistons are working in the margins this offseason, but bringing in John Collins at the four is a move that will provide much more than just fringe benefits for the squad
Just a few days ago, the Detroit Pistons’ starting lineup underwent a shift when 15-year NBA vet Tobias Harris signed with the San Antonio Spurs, which left a notable gap in the Motown rotation. Over the past two seasons, Harris has started over 130 games for the Pistons, which essentially worked out to every game that he was healthy for.
But with Harris joining the Western Conference champs, Detroit needed to fill that role on the roster and wasted little time in doing so by signing eight-year pro John Collins to a three-year, $51 million deal based on initial reporting by Shams Charania. Last season, Collins posted over 13 points and five rebounds per game for the Clippers while shooting above 40% from three-point range as a stretch four, so the Pistons undoubtedly acquired a dynamic 6-9 big man who can contribute to Detroit on the perimeter in a way that Harris was just unable to.
However, in the days since that transaction was initially announced, more information has surfaced that points to the Collins transaction officially being classified as a sign-and-trade with Los Angeles. According to Omari Sankofa of the Detroit Free Press, only the first year of Collins’ three-year deal is going to be guaranteed, which is a degree of flexibility that would allow for Detroit to move off of the contract if they so choose after the 2026-27 campaign.
As a result of that deal, the Clippers have created a full Traded Player Exemption since the Pistons will apparently acquire Collins without fulfilling the requirement of matching salary in the trade. The Pistons owned several exemptions entering the offseason, which is a credit to Trajan Langdon’s savvy maneuvering in the Detroit front office, and they’ll be using a TPE in order to execute this transaction.
Since Harris is joining the Spurs, Collins should have a relatively clear runway to the Pistons’ starting lineup as a 28-year old who operates as a serious above-the-rim lob threat while still maintaining an elite rate of knocking down shots from downtown. During the playoffs last season in both rounds one and two, the Pistons struggled with offensive floor spacing, so Collins would theoretically help solve that issue while providing more room for Cade Cunningham to operate in the mid-range as a playmaker or a scorer.
When comparing Harris to Collins, both players put up similar numbers for a majority of the counting stats, but the latter checked in as a much stronger shooter on the whole. Collins connected on his field goal attempts at a 55.5% rate compared to Harris’ 46.9% rate while also outdoing the 15-year professional by more than 3% from long-range and more than 7% in terms of true shooting.
Now, Harris was one of the more reliable mid-range scoring threats in the NBA over the last two seasons, but Collins offers a much more athletic, dynamic profile with his leaping ability and shooting range. And if that wasn’t enough, Collins is seven years younger and will be a cheaper player to pay moving forward, so the shift from Harris to Collins is one that makes quite a bit of sense on paper for Detroit and will allow for the Pistons to focus on Jalen Duren’s contract negotiations now that they’ve locked down their power forward of the future.
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