Los Angeles Clippers forward John Collins has had a productive career that has quietly flown under the radar. His numbers took a slight dip in his first season with the Clippers, averaging 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds in 27.1 minutes per game. The Portland Trail Blazers can use that to their advantage, as Collins would be the ideal free agency addition to bolster their frontcourt depth.
Part of the reason Collins is underrated is that, well, he's not quite as valuable relative to his contract. The Clippers had him on the books for a $26.6 million player option this past season, making him the third-highest-paid player on their roster behind stars Kawhi Leonard and Darius Garland. Collins should never be the third-highest player on any team with legitimate playoff aspirations, and the Clippers' lack of options outside of their two stars ultimately led to their end-of-season collapse.
Blazers could replace Robert Williams with John Collins in free agency
The situation would be entirely different in Portland, where expectations and salary would be more realistic. Collins is projected to go for the million non-taxpayer midlevel exception in free agency, which is perfectly in Portland's free agency spending range. The Blazers are in a good enough spot financially that they could either retain veterans Robert Williams III and Matisse Thybulle or use the $15 million non-tax MLE on a depth piece like Collins.
Keeping Time Lord in Portland should be a top offseason priority. They can extend his contract before June 30. But the downside of the productive and healthy season is that he should now have several suitors in free agency, raising his value as a result. If Portland wants to take a safer and potentially cheaper route, Collins should absolutely be on their radar.
He may not be that elite defender or even the same lob threat as Williams, but one upgrade would lie in Collins' positional versatility. His combination of size and floor spacing allows him to play both the four and the five effectively for stretches, which is an element Portland's frontcourt is currently missing.
John Collins is the perfect frontcourt fit for Portland
That could prove to be a better fit as the Blazers look to prioritize their recent first-round selections, Donovan Clingan and Yang Hnasen. A shaky rookie season isn't going to change Portland's long-term stance on Hansen, but it should make them consider finding a stopgap, whether that's Williams or an external piece like Collins.
That positional versatility gives them much-needed Hansen insurance to spell Clingan for stretches, while also allowing them to play alongside Clingan should Portland decide to go big. They didn't have that frontcourt flexibility this season, which prevented the Blazers from playing to their strengths as a team built on length and positional size.
Collins won't be the sexy offseason pickup to drastically move the needle in the Western Conference. But as a 40.6 percent three-point shooter last season, he'd help Portland address a fatal flaw while giving their frontcourt another dimension with invaluable depth at multiple positions. If they get priced out of Williams or decide his injury history is no longer worth the risk, Collins is an underrated free agency target Portland should pursue this summer.
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