The Atlanta Hawks have agreed a contract extension with restricted free agent John Collins. The 23-year-old will remain in Georgia for five more years.
This is reported by Adrian Wojnarowski ESPN. Collins will receive $125 million over the next five years, but can get out of his deal after the fourth season and become a free agent again.
In the days before, Sam Amick (The Athletic) nor reported that Collins would continue to strive for a maximum contract, which he finally did not get from Atlanta, probably also because there were no other real bidders.
The Hawks are also holding their second young star. At the start of free agency, Atlanta had already agreed with point guard Trae Young on an early five-year contract extension for up to $207 million.
Like Young, Collins played a key role in the Hawks’ first playoff appearance since 2017, when Atlanta lost six games to eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in the Conference Finals. During the regular season, the forward averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds and complemented well with center Clint Capela as Collins hit nearly 40 percent of his three-pointers.
In the playoffs, the point average fell to just under 14 points, but Collins proved for the first time in his career that defense can also have value. The 23-year-old was the 19th pick in the 2017 draft after two years in college at Wake Forest.