The top restricted free agent of this summer was, undoubtedly, John Collins after what he did in his fourth season with the Atlanta Hawks, helping to lead them to the Eastern Conference Finals. While it wasn’t clear if Collins would take whatever offer Atlanta brought to the table — thanks in large part to the fact that he had turned down offers from the team to extend before hitting free agency — the big man was able to come to terms on a deal to stay with the team that drafted him.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, the two sides came to terms on a five-year deal with a player option that will pay Collins $125 million.
Restricted free agent F John Collins has agreed to a five-year, $125M deal to stay with the Atlanta Hawks, @excelbasketball agents Sean Kennedy and Jeff Schwartz tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 4, 2021
Deal includes a player option in the fifth year for Collins.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 4, 2021
Collins turned down a 4-year, $90 million extension prior to the season to pursue possible max money this offseason and made that decision look smart as he backed up the best year of his career with a similarly impressive campaign on a winner, which he parlayed into one more year and a little more cash. Collins averaged 17.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 2020-21, shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 39.9 percent from three-point range, as he has established himself as a legitimate deep threat.
That ability to pop out to the three-point line, as well as being a significant rim threat as a roll man makes him incredibly valuable next to Trae Young, and any questions those two could coexist to lead a winner were answered with Atlanta’s run to the ECF.
Source: https://uproxx.com/dimemag/john-collins-nba-free-agency-hawks-contract-details/