Atlanta Hawks Receive: G Derrick Rose, F Obi Toppin

New York Knicks Receive: F/C John Collins

In all likelihood, this was not the deal you were expecting to see here.

We could have had the Atlanta Hawks flipping John Collins for Julius Randle. That would not have made sense for them. Granted, Randle may be a pure talent upgrade.

Still, having just acquired the ball-dominant Dejounte Murray to pair with the ball-dominant Trae Young, adding another on-ball starter would be senseless.

Alternatively, we could have had the New York Knicks sending the Hawks salary-matching and a first-round pick for Collins. That wouldn’t make sense for them. The Knicks are stockpiling draft capital to trade for a superstar. Collins doesn’t quite make the cut.

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This felt like the best compromise we could land on. It should benefit both teams in 2022-23, and could help either out in the long-term as well.

After all, it’s long felt like the Hawks wanted to get off of Collins’ contract. Is this enough to incentivize them to do so?