Zach Collins has barely played for the Portland Trail Blazers in the past two seasons, but with a lack of cap space and ways to improve the team in free agency, Blazers management should look to bring him back anyway.
Collins is a six-foot-eleven multi-talented big man, who has never really had the chance to show that he is a competent NBA player. In his first two seasons, he showed enough promise to be promoted to the starting power forward position for the 2020 season.
His stats through his first two seasons showed his promise
5 points / 4 rebounds / 0.7 blocks in only 17.5 minutes per game. Not huge numbers but if you dive deeper you see he can finish well at the rim and that he had developing range from three-point territory.
Collins was a defender who didn’t get blown out when he was away from the rim, while also having the strength to compete with the bigger bigs in the NBA too.
Though at the moment it is more potential than it is proven production or on-court value, with the Blazers current payroll situation, Collins is a no-brainer to bring back on a one-year deal.
The Blazers will only have the veterans minimum and then likely around $5 million to spend on one player via the mid-level exception. Though they can sign anyone to deals using the veteran’s minimum, they won’t be able to bring a player like that back easily if they just come in on a one-year deal. Because the Blazers have Collins bird rights, if he works out then they can go over the cap to re-sign him next season.
If healthy, and it is a big if, Collins can play tough defense on one end while stretching the floor and using some nice passing skills on the other. With the market for bigs being pretty poor with not a lot of quality options, Collins may be a better solution on a veteran’s minimum deal.
Even if they do sign another big, then Collins could be the third option and they could ease him back into games. With only having to commit around $2 million to him, if he doesn’t work out then they can cut him during the season or it will just be one roster spot taken up.
Collins worked hard to fully extend his range and work on his offense in this extended layoff, so he gives the Blazers different lineup options at the five with a potential five-out system.
It’s difficult to say which way the Blazers will go after a new coach is hired, but Collins is familiar with this franchise and the personnel. If he can be fit for this year, it seems like a no-brainer to bring him back on a one-year prove-it deal.