Hawks clear cap room by trading Collins to Jazz for Gay, 2nd rounder

ATLANTA (AP)— The Atlanta Hawks cleared significant salary cap space on Mondayby agreeing to trade forward John Collins to the Utah Jazz forveteran forward Rudy Gay and a future second-round draft pick, aperson with knowledge of the deal told The Associated Press.

Collins, whohad been mentioned amid much trade speculation leading up to lastweek’s NBA draft, finally was dealt to Utah, according to theperson who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because thetrade cannot become official before July 6.

The trade wasfirst reported by ESPN.

Collins, 25,was a first-round pick in 2017 and scored in double figures in eachof his six seasons with Atlanta. He averaged 21.6 points and 10.1rebounds, both career bests, in the 2019-20 season and 17.6 pointsper game for the 2021-21 team that advanced to the EasternConference finals.

Collins’scoring declined as Trae Young and other players assumed leadscoring roles. He averaged 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds thisseason, when the Hawks suffered their second consecutivefirst-round exit in the playoffs.

With theHawks looking to clear salary-cap room, Collins, who is guaranteed$25.3 million in the 2023-24 season, became a much-discussed tradetarget.

Gay, 36, isdue approximately $6.5 million next season, creating significantsavings for Atlanta.

Collins(6-foot-9, 235) brings size and scoring potential to a Utah frontline that also includes Lauri Markkanen, 2023 rookie Walker Kesslerand last week’s No. 9 overall pick, Taylor Hendricks, a powerforward from Central Florida.

Collins’ exitcould create more playing time for young forwards AJ Griffin andJalen Johnson, as well as veteran Saddiq Bay.

Gay (6-8,250) averaged 5.2 points in 56 games, all as a backup, for Utah inthe 2022-23 season. He has averaged 15.8 points per game for hiscareer, including a personal-best 21.1 for Sacramento in the2014-15 season.