John Collins, from Atlanta, was at the Garden on Monday night and in the commercial block.
Collins, selected 19th overall in 2017, is a new age striker / center of strength and good shot at 1.80m tall.
The Knicks are apparently well-powered with all-star potential Julius Randle and his 2020 lottery winner Obi Toppin.
The Knicks haven’t asked about Collins yet. They are probably seeing more than they have at Toppin and saw Atlanta Stud firsthand on Monday, where Collins scored 19 points with four rebounds in the Knicks’ 123-112 win at Garden.
The Hawks are looking to see if there is a strong market for the former Wake Forest star, but NBA executives think they will not switch Collins unless they receive a colossal offer. Collins’ value for Atlanta seemed to decrease when they traded last season for center clint Capint. The team is hearing offers for Collins because he declined a $ 90 million extension offer and could become a restricted free agent this summer.
Although he was a substandard defender, Collins is still a great athletic man who came in on Monday with an average of 18.1 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, while shooting 39.1 percent of 3. Collins is just 23 years old and was selected well after Frank Ntilikina (No. 8) and former Knicks owner Dennis Smith Jr. (No. 9) in the draft.
The Knicks are in the wait and see mode as they deal with Mitchell Robinson’s broken hand, which can keep him out for at least six weeks.
The Hawks are looking for at least a good lottery choice for Collins. The Knicks potentially have two lottery choices in the 2021 draft – their own and that of Dallas. However, the Knicks is currently in the playoff position in 7th position and Dallas is moving up.
Perhaps offering one of the two choices from the first round plus Ntilikina could be attractive, but the Knicks would need to feel comfortable giving Collins a long-term deal.
Collins and Ntilikina have almost the same wages, but the French owner is out of the Knicks’ rotation.
The Hawks were touted as a major threat to the playoffs after a strong off-season in which they hired former Knicks lottery player Danilo Gallinari, Bogdan Bogdanovic and point guard Rajon Rondo. But they entered the Jardim court on 11-15, having lost six of their previous seven games.
The Cavaliers center, Andre Drummond, is also in the commercial block and is prevented from playing until he is transferred. According to a source, Drummond, a native of Mount Vernon and an imminent free agent, would consider the Knicks a good landing site.
Robinson has another appointment on Tuesday before deciding whether to undergo surgery.
Ntilikina was away from the team for a week to track COVID-19 contact and the tests are still negative. He will join the Knicks “soon,” said coach Tom Thibodeau.
Thibodeau said that newcomer Immanuel Quickley’s next step is “to learn the league because they are learning about it”.