Miami Heat Rumored To Pursue John Collins

Hawks power forward John Collins is back in trade rumors.

Jim Rassol-USA TODAY Sports

The Miami Heat dismantled the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Now, they are rumored to be interested in acquiring one of the Hawks' key players.

#Sources — Miami Heat planning to pivot from Kevin Durant/Donovan Mitchell trade pursuits and focus attention on acquiring Atlanta’s PF John Collins. #NBA

— NBATradeReport (@NBATradeReport) July 26, 2022

Take this report with a grain of salt, but @NBATradeReport tweeted last night that the Heat were pivoting from trade talks centered around Kevin Durant and Donovan Mitchell. Now they are focusing on John Collins. At this time, no other outlets have reported on this story.

Collins is only 24 years old and on a fair contract. Atlanta's front office let their 2017 first round draft pick hit restricted free agency last summer, only to sign him to a five-year, $125 million contract. Within months, Collins was being shopped around the league. The trade talks hit a crescendo right before the 2022 NBA Draft, but nothing ever came of it.

It has appeared both sides are trying to smooth out any hard feelings. First, Collins posed for pictures with his coach and teammates at the NBA 2K23 Summer League in Las Vegas earlier this month. Then this past weekend, Collins teamed up with Trae Young in the Drew League.

Hawks fans became alarmed after seeing Collins' injured finger remained disproportionately swollen, which caused the Hawks' social media team to delete a picture from the team's Instagram account. 

Collins battled through injuries down the stretch of the 2021-22 season and still managed to average 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. There must not be any injury concerns, given the number of teams who have pursued Collins in trade talks. 

There are no players the Heat would be willing to part with that are worth what Collins brings to the Hawks. Hawks fans certainly hope nothing comes from the Heat's rumored new plan. We thought Collins was immune from trade talks for at least a few months, but that may prove incorrect. Stay locked into AllHawks.com for breaking news, highlights, and analysis.

john collins playing against the Miami Heat in the 2022 NBA Playoffs / Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

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