The Portland Trail Blazers are casting a wide net this offseason when it comes to upgrading the roster. Following surgery for Damian Lillard on his abdomen, the team bottomed out during the 2021-22 NBA season and became sellers ahead of the deadline.
CJ McCollum, Larry Nance Jr., Norman Powell and Robert Covington were all traded, as they cleared as much money and added as much draft capital as they could. Their goal? Rebuild the roster this offseason around Lillard.
The team has focused a lot of its efforts, when it comes to the trade market, on building packages around the No. 7 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. That is one of the best assets that Portland has, as they can build numerous packages.
One of the players that they have reportedly set their targets on is John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks. Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report shared an update about the Portland Trail Blazers and Collins.
“Collins is still being mentioned as a trade target for Portland while the Trail Blazers explore their options to add win-now talent around Damian Lillard in exchange for the No. 7 choice.”
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: These 3 Trades Send Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins To Portland Trail Blazers
John Collins is a worthwhile target for the Trail Blazers. He is an established player that already has a season of 21+ points and 10+ rebounds under his belt. However, since that point, his chances on offense have diminished despite him still being an efficient scorer.
With Jusuf Nurkic widely expected to return as the starting center, Collins makes for a good pairing in the frontcourt alongside him. Collins’ ability to consistently knock down 3-pointers, as he is a 37.6 percent career shooter from distance. That kind of spacing will help keep the offense flowing around Lillard and potential Anfernee Simons, should Portland re-sign him in free agency.
LATEST NBA NEWS AND TRADE RUMORS: These 3 Trades Send Atlanta Hawks’ John Collins To Portland Trail Blazers
Only 24 years old, the best is likely yet to come for Collins, who is only scratching the surface of his potential. He is still young enough that the Trail Blazers can count on him being one of their foundational pieces for the future when Lillard is ready to move on.
The Portland Trail Blazers would be hard-pressed to find a player with the 7th overall pick that can help them win more games than John Collins can this upcoming season.
