John Collins arrival to LA is set to cause generational hurdle for Jazz

The Utah Jazz were involved in a three-team deal with the LA Clippers and Miami Heat, with the intended purpose of letting go of John Collins. The likelihood that they wanted to extend him was low, as Collins has been injury-prone and is essentially 28.

However, Collins was a primary reason why the Jazz were able to win 31 games. This is a significantly low win count, but the Wake Forest product averaged 19.0 points and 8.2 rebounds in 40 games.

It is not hard to believe that if Collins had not been there, or played fewer games with the injuries he was dealing with, Utah would have had the worst record in the league, and maybe even of all-time, competing with the Charlotte Hornets in 2012(7-59) and Philadelphia 76ers in 1973(9-73).

In the end, the Jazz traded Collins and did not replace him appropriately, proving that next season could be historically underwhelming for fans of the Salt Lake City.

Collins’ departure could cause Utah to disappoint fans in a season that is already expected to go south

The Utah Jazz went on a nearly complete rebuild this summer by splitting John Collins and Collin Sexton in different directions. Sexton ended up on the Charlotte Hornets, where he will help a young core led by LaMelo Ball, and Collins arrives at the LA Clippers as a championship piece that head coach Tyronn Lue is relying on.

Furthermore, the Jazz held on to Lauri Markkanen, who is one of the oldest veterans on their roster at 28. He is expected to be traded soon as well, but for now, it is clear how much Utah will need him to overcome their record of last season at 31-51.

Utah does have Kyle Filipowski, a second-year wing, who is also heavily depended on by head coach Will Hardy. He should succeed, after winning the NBA Summer League MVP, but it is a risky call on the Jazz’s end to trust a sophomore with the veteran duties Collins had.

In fact, according to a report from on X(formerly Twitter), @UnderdogNBA posted the Jazz’s projection at 18 wins this season.

The bar of 18 is extremely low, but also accurate, as the Jazz do not have any real stars in their rotation outside of Markkanen, who also has health concerns like Collins. This prediction could also be considered a challenge to Hardy, as they may be confident in their youngsters to shock the world and compete for the play-in tournament.