On Wednesday, the Utah Jazz and Lauri Markkanen agreed to a five-year, 238-million-dollar extension. Since the one-time All-Star forward signed the extension after August 6, that means he can’t be traded for six months, which is past the trade deadline, thereby making Markkanen functionally untradeable for the 2024-25 season.
All offseason long, the Sacramento Kings have been linked to Markkanen (even after they acquired DeMar DeRozan), as the team needs an upgrade at power forward in order to take the next level as a contender in the stacked Western Conference.
As their options for power forwards on the market continue to dwindle, Sacramento Kings play-by-play announcer Kyle Draper thinks that the team should pivot over to a different forward on the Jazz.
“I think Monte McNair should hop in his Winnebago and go get John Collins,” Draper said on Sactown Sports. “The reason why I say this…is because John Collins, at 26 years old, is the perfect power forward fit for the Sacramento Kings. Forget the money. I’m talking about the player. This is a guy who averaged 15 and 8 for the Utah Jazz in only 28 minutes of play. If he played 34 minutes, you’re talking about a 19 and 10 kind of guy. Here is a guy…[who] can knock down a three as well – 37% from 3-point range. We’ve been spending all offseason talking about Kyle Kuzma [and] Brandon Ingram. Those guys need the ball. Collins can be effective off the ball.”
The Sacramento Kings have been linked to John Collins over the years. Is it time for Monte McNair to call the Utah Jazz?@KyleDraperTV thinks so.
"John Collins is the answer… Bring John to SAC." pic.twitter.com/MfCgCmIJrQ
— Sactown Sports 1140 (@Sactown1140) August 7, 2024
“And you know what Collins brings that none of those guys brings? Vertical spacing. A lob threat. A guy who can go up there and get it. Imagine De’Aaron Fox coming downhill, off the Domantas [Sabonis] screen, Collins cutting on the weakside, he throws it up [for a lob], and Golden One Center goes wild. I don’t get the knock on Collins.”
Is Draper Right About Collins?
As we’ve discussed before, what the Kings need from a power forward is someone who can space the floor, attack closeouts, defend, and offer secondary rim protection.
For Collins, yes, last year, he did shoot 37.1% from three (57th percentile, per Dunks & Threes), but that was on volume that placed in the 38th percentile leaguewide (4.4 attempts 3-point attempts per 75). So, his utility as a spacer is questionable at best (remember, when it comes to spacing, volume is more important than efficiency).
He’s also not that strong of a closeout attacker. Last season, Collins was in the 34th percentile in drives per 36 minutes and the 31st percentile in true shooting on drives (per Thinking Basketball). Meanwhile, his Defensive Estimated Plus-Minus (DEF EPM) was in just the 7th percentile.
He does give you some rim protection juice (77th percentile block rate). But overall, he is more of a quality backup center option (thanks to the rim-running that Draper alluded to). Unfortunately, Collins makes a little too much (26.6 million in each of the next two years, per Spotrac) to be just a backup.
With that said, maybe Draper is right, and Collins’ fit in Sacramento is a lot cleaner in practice than it is on paper.
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