Now in nearly the same boat as the Miami Heat, the Sacramento Kings are exploring trades for their face of the franchise, with a specific package in mind.
However, while the focus is on De’Aaron Fox‘s future, they might have more pressing concerns. If they want to challenge for a title before Fox leaves, or even after, they need to fortify their roster. Though they’ve amassed plenty of scoring talent, their frontcourt rotation is uninspiring. The backups for DeMar DeRozan, Keegan Murray, and Domantas Sabonis all leave something to be desired. With that being said, the Kings obviously won’t just accept anyone
In fact, they’ve already turned down a trade with the Utah Jazz at the behest of former head coach Mike Brown.
Kings Turned Down Trade For Jazz Veteran John Collins
“There are players Mike said no to,” ESPN 1320 Sacramento’s co-host Damien Barling reports. “There are players that Mike said he didn’t want. (Jazz forward-center) John Collins is one of them. And I was told there was a deal in place for John Collins during the offseason. And Mike said, ‘I don’t want him.’ The argument was he was a low IQ player.”
Sacramento Kings turned down deals for John Collins and Brandon Ingram in the off-season because of Mike Brown:
“There was a deal in place for John Collins during the off-season. And Mike said ‘I don’t want him.’ The argument was he was a low-IQ player.”
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This may not be a major indictment against John Collins, as Brown is only one coach.
Yet, considering the way that Brown’s peers felt when he was fired, they may have shared his opinion. They at least held it in high esteem. In any case, it helps illuminate at least one reason the Jazz have had trouble trading Collins. Even with the high-flyer getting off to a hot start this season, he hasn’t been making much noise on the trade market.
To Brown’s point, Collins does tend to have tunnel vision when he gets near the rim. Because of his limited court vision and awareness, he ends up taking tougher shots than he needs to, failing to find teammates for a better one. For lack of a better term, he tends to be a black hole on offense. At the defensive end, Collins is at his best when asked to protect the rim despite being just 6-foot-9. This is partially because he doesn’t have the smoothest lateral movements but also because he doesn’t make strong rotations.
Still, he’s a skilled three-level scorer averaging 18.0 points per game and shooting 45.3 percent from long-range. With Doug Christie now in as head coach, perhaps the Kings kick the tires on Collins.
Brandon Ingram Too?
Barling reveals that Brown “did not want” New Orleans Pelicans forward Brandon Ingram either.
Though it’s possible, he stops short of saying that the Kings also turned down an offer for Ingram. Whether they did, the impression is that Brown didn’t trust Ingram’s basketball IQ. That may not necessarily be about their play style, as there’s some overlap between what he and DeRozan do well. However, DeRozan is a more seasoned and savvy player than Ingram.
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