'Finding Middle Ground': Mavs & Hawks Can Make a John Collins Trade Work

The Dallas Mavericks have apparently shifted their NBA trade deadline focuses towards looking for a stretch-four to pair next to Kristaps Porzingis in the frontcourt. Atlanta Hawks' John Collins would be an excellent fit.

There are just four days remaining until the NBA trade deadline, and the Dallas Mavericks are still looking for ways to bolster their roster around superstar Luka Doncic before attempting yet another playoff run. Could Atlanta Hawks' forward John Collins help put Dallas over the top?

The Hawks are in Dallas tonight taking on the Mavs for the first time since opening night, and as we saw three years ago with the Kristaps Porzingis trade, sometimes deals can be made while teams are meeting each other right before the trade deadline. The Mavs have been linked to Collins all trade season, and that trend continued on Sunday.

According to Matt Moore from the Action Network, the Mavs have shifted their main focus to looking for a stretch-four to pair with Kristaps Porzingis, who has been much better defensively this season than he was last year. Moore also says that Dallas has "re-entered the talks for Collins and have made calls about [Toronto Raptors forward] Siakam."

Although many believe the Mavs don't have the assets to pull off a Collins trade, ESPN's Bobby Marks posted his 2022 NBA trade deadline 'What to Watch and Potential Deals' piece that included an intriguing mock trade between the Mavs and the Hawks involving Collins, albeit at a pretty steep price.

Trade we would like to see: Push the chips to the middle and go after the Hawks' John Collins. The Mavericks would receive Collins in exchange for Dorian Finney-Smith, Maxi Kleber, Reggie Bullock and two future first-round picks (2025 and 2027).

As much as the Mavs could probably use a roster shakeup for the first time in three years, would mortgaging the future for Collins really be worth it? 

Collins is only averaging 16.9 points and 7.9 rebounds per game for the Hawks, but his minutes and field goal attempts have gone down in each of the last two seasons. He's also shooting nearly 54 percent from the field and 40 percent from deep. In the 2019-2020 season, Collins averaged a career-high 21.6 points, 10.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks when he was getting a bigger slice of the pie.

The Hawks' asking price for Collins - at least that was the case before Atlanta went on this recent run where it has won eight of its last 10 games - was reportedly one starting-caliber player and a first-round pick. Even though the Hawks have been hot lately, they're still just 10th in the Eastern Conference standings, clinging to the final play-in tournament spot with less than 30 games remaining. They also don't have much financial flexibility going forward as currently contracted.

With that in mind, here is the trade between the Mavs and Hawks that we would like to see instead:

Mavs receive: John Collins

Hawks receive: Maxi Kleber, Dwight Powell and the Mavs' 2027 first-round pick (top-5 protected)

If the Hawks truly want a starting-caliber player and a first-round pick for Collins, who has had some chemistry issues during his time in Atlanta, then this trade might work out for them. Not only would they save $3 million now, but Powell would gives the Hawks an athletic pick-and-roll finisher with Trae Young at a much cheaper price tag. Just look at the chemistry Luka Doncic has created with Powell this season.

Another aspect of this trade deadline that is flying under the radar is the contract of Maxi Kleber. Although he's hit a rough patch in recent play, Kleber is still averaging eight points, six rebounds and one block in 25 minutes per game for the Mavs. Kleber is making $8.6 million this season, and his $8.9 million for next season isn't guaranteed. With Powell entering the last year of his contract next season, the Hawks could clear some space quicker while also adding a future draft asset that could be pretty valuable depending on what Doncic does after his supermax contract ends.

Collins would be an excellent addition to the Mavs, and on paper, it seems as if he would be a really good with Kristaps Porzingis in the front court. Collins running pick-and-rolls and pick-and-pops with Luka Doncic would be a thing of beauty. Perhaps the Mavs can work something out with the Hawks before the trade deadline buzzer, just with a little more middle ground.

Stay tuned to DallasBasketball.com for all Mavs trade-related updates and speculation.