One Trade Option for the Kings To Bolster Their Frontcourt

The Sacramento Kings could add to their offensive firepower by inquiring the Utah Jazz about John Collins.

Mar 25, 2024; Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Utah Jazz forward John Collins (20) rebounds against the Dallas Mavericks during the second quarter at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports / Rob Gray-USA TODAY Sports

It wouldn’t be an offseason if we didn’t discuss the possibility of John Collins becoming a King.

The Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz were in supposed talks over Lauri Markkanen, but Utah locked up the talented big man to a long-term contract to take him out of the trade landscape.

There has yet to be an indication of what the Jazz plan to do around Markkanen, but if they plan on sending out Collins, the Kings could look to bolster their frontcourt.

Collins is a hyper-athletic big man who finishes at the rim and hits the three at a respectable rate of 37.1 percent. He isn’t a great defender, but if the Kings lean back into their offensive ways, he could be a big help on the scoring side of the ball. 

Credit: Will Zimmerle /

Collins excels in the pick-and-roll game, finishing in the 91.2nd percentile for the play type last season. This would be a great pairing for Malik Monk especially, who is great at both scoring and distributing out of the pick-and-roll.

One of Monk’s signature moves is throwing up lobs for teammates, and it’s hard to think of someone better in this role than Collins, who finished with 106 dunks last season, 42 of which were alley-oop finishes.

Collin Sexton and John Collins pnr alley oop slam pic.twitter.com/WaxxSxab2O

— Jazz Clips (@UtahJazzClips) January 16, 2024

It’s a role Chimezie Metu filled so well for Sacramento two seasons ago. Metu was extremely effective in the dunker's spot but struggled to stretch the floor like Collins has shown he can do.

Collins would provide a ton of lineup variability. He could start next to Keegan and Sabonis to give them size to start games. He could back up Keegan at the power forward spot, back up Sabonis at the center position, or a combo of the two depending on the matchup. A duo of John Collins and Alex Len would be very intriguing off the bench with them offsetting each other’s skillsets nicely.

The salaries would be difficult to match up and may take sending out Kevin Huerter and Trey Lyles to make the money work. That’s a tough ask this late in the offseason. If the Kings want to make one more splash, John Collins would certainly give them a different look.

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