Two Atlanta Hawks players, center Clint Capela and power forward John Collins, have been embroiled in trade rumors all summer. But the start of the season is there, very close, and no one has moved. Can all these rumors have an impact on the Hawks locker room?
Basketball, and finally the NBA, is a business and everyone knows it. We don’t hesitate to send players to the other end of the United States, in the middle of the season, sometimes without talking to them beforehand. And obviously, in such a context, rumors spread and sometimes become the bread and butter of the media. Players hear regarding it and can be confused, embarrassed, even angry to know that their franchise is trying to get rid of them. And in Atlanta, two names come up regularly in discussions: Clint Capela and John Collins.
The Swiss Clint Capela, former glory of 71 if ever there was one, is a good pivot but not an All-Star either, not of the caliber of those who can win you a series of Playoffs on his own. It is normal today that we imagine Trae Young to be associated with a more dominant interior, even more complementary in particular on pick and roll, and better defender. Rumors regarding him were therefore numerous, especially during a summer when several big names were available. We first talked regarding him at Wolves, who wanted to strengthen at post 5, then we talked regarding a trade with Rudy Gobert, since Jazz GM Danny Ainge always liked Capela and tried to do it. come to Boston in 2019. These two options did not materialize since it was the Frenchman who settled in Minnesota, and recently a rumor sent Clint Capela to Brooklyn once more once morest Joe Harris and Cam Thomas. The Hawks would have lost their starting pivot, but Onyeka Okongwu would have taken his place and more complementary players with the current roster would have arrived.
So many rumors, but not much concrete. And above all, not much to indicate that the Hawks really wanted to part with Capela. Moreover, the franchise has often repeated it: it appreciates the Swiss. Finally, it is especially Trae Young who appreciates him, on and off the pitch, and obviously we will do everything to please the star of the team, we are not crazy anyway.
The other player who has been constantly surrounded by rumors for a few months (years)? John Collins. In his case, the situation is different. His front office tried to include him in a package for Kevin Durant, who ended up staying in Brooklyn. She wanted to exchange him for Dejounte Murray, who finally arrived once morest other players. He was even offered once morest Ben Simmons in January before he joined KD. Just last month, there was talk of giving away Collins to lure Jae Crowder, who still hasn’t found a taker. In short the Hawks therefore tried to trade John Collins on several occasions, business is business. One would think that he took it badly, that he is angry with his leaders, and frankly how can you blame him? But JC was able to express himself on Sunday, like his leaders and his coach, during the traditional Media Day, and apparently… everyone is handsome, everyone is nice. John Collins knows that Nate McMillan is aware of the situation and that everything is done in the interests of the franchise. His coach appreciated the way the player reacted to these rumours. Same story on the side of Landry Fields, the GM of the Hawks:
“We communicated well with John, and he always remained professional. I spoke to him a few days ago and told him that if he was still with us, it was not by chance. –Landry Fields
The relationship between the player and his leaders therefore seems to be in good shape, a victory for the Hawks. But beware, this stability is always dependent on one thing: the results. If it wins, we won’t hear less regarding these rumors and the team will be calm. If it loses, the Hawks will necessarily want to strengthen, and a name will come up once more and once more, that of John Collins. But keeping him might be the right solution, to allow De’Andre Hunter to play in position 3 and avoid the excessive physical work that position 4 requires, in order to prevent him from getting injured once more. We will see more clearly in February depending on the results but until then, the incessant rumors of this summer should not bother the team too much.
Trade rumors are always difficult for players to manage, but the Hawks, Clint Capela and John Collins in particular, do not seem to suffer too much. Be careful all the same in the event of poor results, the chemistry displayed between players and managers might disappear.