John Collins of Atlanta was in the garden Monday night and in the block of flats.
Collins, selected 19th overall in 2017, is a power-new new age, shooting powerfully at 6 feet-9.
The Knicks are apparently well stocked with potential All-Star Julius Randle and their 2020 team Obi Toppin.
The Knicks haven’t wondered about Collins yet. I probably see more of what they have in Toppin and took a direct look at the Atlanta pin in Monday’s game, where Collins scored 19 points to go four rebounds in a 123-112 Knicks victory at Garden.
The Hawks see if there is a strong market for the former Wake Forest star, but NBA executives believe they will not change Collins unless they receive a huge offer. Collins’ value for Atlanta seemed to be declining when they switched to Clint Capela last season. It looks like the team is listening to offers for Collins because it turned down a $ 90 million expansion offer and may become a restricted free agent this summer.
While he was a deficient defender, Collins is still an athletic man who entered on average with 18.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game while shooting 39.1% of 3. Collins is only 23 years old and was selected well after Frank Ntilikina (No. 8) and former Knicks goalie Dennis Smith Jr. (No. 9) in the project.
The Knicks are on standby as they deal with Mitchell Robinson’s broken hand, which could hold the big man for at least six weeks.
It looks like Hawks is looking for at least one high lottery selection for Collins. Knicks potentially has two lottery options in the 2021 project – their choice and Dallas’ choice. However, the Knicks are currently in the playoff position in 7th place, and Dallas is growing.
Maybe an offer from one of the two first-round picks plus Ntilikina could be appealing, but the Knicks should feel comfortable giving Collins a long-term deal.
Collins and Ntilikina have almost the same salaries, but the French goalkeeper is out of the Knicks rotation.
The Hawks were dazed to be a major threat in the playoffs after a strong off-season in which they signed former Knicks lottery coach Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic and goalkeeper Rajon Rondo. But they took the Garden field at 11-15, after losing six of the previous seven games.
Cavaliers center Andre Drummond is also on the block and is kept out of games until he moves. According to a source, Drummond, a native of Mount Vernon and an imminent free agent, would consider the Knicks a good landing point.
Robinson has another consultation on Tuesday before deciding whether to undergo surgery.
Ntilikina was away from the team for a week to track COVID-19 contacts and still gives negative results. He will join the Knicks “soon,” said coach Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau said that the next step of the debutant Immanuel Quickley is “learning the league, because they learn about it”.