Jazz's Biggest Trade Candidate Revealed in New NBA Power Rankings

The Utah Jazz could be up for sale in the weeks leading into the trade deadline.

Dec 8, 2024; Sacramento, California, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) dribbles against Sacramento Kings forward DeMar DeRozan (10) during the third quarter at Golden 1 Center. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

As the Utah Jazz continue to pile on losses and move further and further away from playoff contention this season, the possibility of this team becoming prominent sellers on the market come February's trade deadline increases alongside it-- especially when looking at several veterans on the roster who could generate some interest around the league.

The deadline is still a month away, but now with trade restrictions of recently signed players from this summer lifted this past week, trade chatter and rumors will start to increase in the weeks leading up to the looming February 6th date.

Utah will have the opportunity to ship out a few players on the roster for the right price, with one name collecting some significant buzz as a potential mover especially factoring in his recent play-- John Collins.

It's who The Athletic and Law Murray pointed out as the Jazz's most notable trade piece alongside in their newest power rankings. While Utah didn't move at all in the rankings from their lowly spot of 28th, some interesting insight was offered on Collins and his status leading up to the deadline.

"Collins has a $26.6 million player option this summer, and he is doing as well as he can offensively to raise his value, averaging a five-year high of 18.0 points on 53.4 percent shooting from the field," Murray said. "The Jazz have been awful on defense, and Collins is harder to fit in defensively for teams. But the most intriguing thing for Collins is that his perimeter shooting has recovered after a nasty finger injury in 2022. He has earned rave reviews for his professionalism all season from Jazz coach Will Hardy as well."

After a bumpy start with the Jazz during his first season in Salt Lake City, Collins has emerged as one of the best components of this roster, albeit in a mainly unsuccessful first 25 games. His ability to have consistent production in a bad situation could appeal opposing GMs, and Danny Ainge could strike while the iron is hot.

Upon acquiring Collins, it only took Rudy Gay and a second-round pick to bring him into town. Now, the Jazz could have the chance of getting an impressive return on their buy-low investment in just under two years.

Of course, considering how well he's played this season, Utah could opt to keep the 27-year-old long-term, but we know how opportunistic Ainge and this Jazz front office have been in the early motions of this rebuild. They dealt a productive Mike Conley two years ago and did the same to Simone Fontecchio and Kelly Olynyk last season. Anything is possible in the next seven weeks.

Needless to be said, keep an eye on Collins, as well as the other Jazz veterans on the roster as we near the NBA trade deadline on February 6th, 2025.

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