Report: Brooklyn Nets registered interest in John Collins around draft

The Brooklyn Nets have already had a whirlwind offseason after many rumors indicated that Kyrie Irving’s future was in question before he exercised his hefty player option for the 2022-23 NBA season.

Now, with the stars on their roster presumably staying put for the upcoming season, the Nets may be looking to add some talent to their frontcourt.

According to a Wednesday report, the Nets registered some level of interest in big man John Collins around the draft.

“Outside of San Antonio, there doesn’t appear to be any serious active trade conversation surrounding Collins,” Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report wrote. “Sacramento, Portland, Boston and Brooklyn all registered some level of interest in Collins around the draft, but none of those teams appear far along with Atlanta on Collins deals at this juncture.”

For a long time, Collins has had a reputation of being a talented big man who flies somewhat under the radar. He’s had a great career thus far with the Atlanta Hawks, though last season wasn’t his best.

In the 2021-22 season, Collins played in just 54 regular season games for the Hawks. He started in 53 of those games and averaged 16.2 points and 7.8 rebounds per game. It was his worst season from a scoring perspective since his rookie campaign.

Surely, if he were to join a team like the Nets, who have multiple players that often require extremely high levels of attention from opposing defenders, Collins would be able to get a lot of open looks inside.

Last season, the Nets entered the year seen as one of the teams most likely to win it all. What transpired was a very disappointing regular season and early exit from the playoffs. Surely, the team is looking to rebound from that and have a great 2022-23 campaign.