John Collins Trade 'Underrated Move' According to NBA Insider

The Utah Jazz continues reshaping the roster brick by brick.

The Utah Jazz keep flying under the radar as they continue to reshape their roster in year two of the Will Hardy reign. Last year it was Lauri Markkanen and Walker Kessler emerging onto the scene, making significant strides in their development. 

Which player on the Jazz is positioned for a big jump this year? NBA insider Andy Bailey of Bleacher Report gave some insight on the topic when he joined ESPN 700's The Bill Riley Show.

Andy Bailey reacts to Summer League and previews what he expects from the Jazz #BillRiley #UniversityofUtah #NBA https://t.co/2uJx2gjeoV

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“I have thought for years that he’s [John Collins] underrated,” Bailey said. “Obviously everything in Atlanta revolves and continues to revolve around Trae Young — even after they added Dejounte Murray. It’s really the Trae Young show. I think of times that comes at the expense of some teammates and I certainly think that’s true with John Collins. When he’s in the right role and gets a chance to play for a couple years there, he was a pretty consistent 20 and 10 guy”

Fans may remember that Collins is only two years removed from being arguably the second or third-best player on a team that played in the Eastern Conference Finals. Although making the type of leap that Markkanen made last year may be the best-case scenario, it's not out of the realm of possibility considering the parallels that can be drawn between their situations. 

Playing in a system with a ball-dominant point guard in Darius Garland didn't bode well for Markkanen in his time with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Markkanen averaged 14.5 ppg in the season prior to coming to Salt Lake City while averaging 11.5 shot attempts a game. Those numbers are respectable, but Markkanen showed he was much more than a third or fourth option when given the opportunity.

Collins' numbers were similar in his last year with the Atlanta Hawks. Sharing the court with Young and Murray, Collins put up 13.1 ppg on just ten attempts per contest. Certainly, they’ll be more volume to be had in Salt Lake City, but is Collins up to the task?

One major concern is the finger injury that Collins was forced to play through last year. The injury is called a "boutonnière deformity."

Dr. Deepak Chona, an orthopedic surgeon at Stanford University, gave some insight to exactly what that is in a piece written by Chris Kirschner of The Athletic.

‘It’s related to a sprain but involves the structures that hold the tendons in place, so, essentially the person has trouble straightening the middle joint of the finger,” Chona said.

Collins shot a career-low 29.2% from long distance last year. It’s safe to say that the lingering finger injury was a major contributor to that. How the finger heals will be something to keep an eye on as we inch closer to the regular season.

Despite the injury concerns, Bailey still believes that the Collins trade could pay big dividends down the road.

“I think that was a great move,” Bailey said. “I think that was one of the most underrated moves of the summer. I think a lot of people were upset or impatient about Utah, sitting on their hands in free agency. But if you think about John Collins, you can essentially say they signed John Collins to a three-year $75 million deal.”

Jazz fans will get their first glimpse of Collins when the Jazz take on the Toronto Raptors in their first preseason game on October 2.

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