One of the biggest weaknesses on the Miami Heat roster at the moment is the power forward position. For that reason, it shouldn’t come as much of a shock to Heat fans that the team is monitoring the situation of Atlanta Hawks big man John Collins.
“John Collins, too, the Heat are one of the teams watching that situation, but they probably need more young assets to send back,” an Eastern Conference executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “Everyone talks about the [Los Angeles] Lakers’ 2027 pick but (Miami’s 2027 pick) is one that the Heat can trade as well, and there is a lot of value being placed on that pick because you can imagine them hitting a bottom around then. Is it enough to help them get Collins? Probably not but it is a good asset for them.”
Adding Collins would immediately turn a place of weakness — Miami’s frontcourt rotation — into a place of strength.
Collins stands at 6-foot-9, is 235 pounds and has the skill and athleticism to make a strong impact on a nightly basis. In 29 appearances this season (all starts), Collins is averaging 12.9 points, 7.9 boards and 1.2 assists per game. On the defensive end, he’s logging 1.3 blocks per contest.
He’s also proven to be capable of much more. Back in the 2019-20 campaign, Collins put up 21.6 points and 10.1 rebounds per game.
With Collins as the power forward spot and Bam Adebayo at center, the Heat would have a very talented frontcourt duo.
Though the 2022-23 season got off to a pretty ugly start for the Heat, they have since managed to turn things around. They have won eight of their last 11 contests and currently find themselves with a 20-18 record on the year, good for the No. 7 spot in the Eastern Conference.
The hope is that Miami is finally starting to figure things out. Adding a player of Collins’ quality in the frontcourt would only improve the team’s chances of climbing further up the conference standings.
With the trade deadline this season just over a month away, things figure to get very exciting across the league in the coming weeks. It will be interesting to see if the Heat end up being big buyers before the Feb. 9 deadline comes and goes.