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Shams Charania’s report linking the Philadelphia 76ers to the Hawks re: a potential Ben Simmons trade has been a hot topic on the hoops blogosphere. However, pundits and fans alike are wondering if Sixers president Daryl Morey would actually sign off on a deal with Atlanta.
It has been reported ad nauseam that Morey will only consider moves returning a top-25 player to the Sixers. Per the report, John Collins could headline Philly’s compensation package in a trade for Simmons (and Tobias Harris, who the Sixers are said to be dangling in talks), and he’s not quite on that level.
Still, Collins is a rising star who’s averaging 17.5 points and 7.9 rebounds per game while shooting 42.7% from deep this season. And there’s a belief that he may be angling for a fresh start amid continued rumblings that he’s frustrated with the Hawks and his role with the team.
For his part, though, Collins maintains that reports of his discontent in the ATL are exaggerated.
Collins via The Athletic: ‘This Is Where I Want to Be’
Last season, amid some extension drama that was happening between himself and the Hawks, Collins made a point to say that he wanted to spend his career with the franchise. When asked about whether those feelings had changed in recent months, he offered up a particularly strong response.
“No. That’s why it’s frustrating when I’m mentioned in those kinds of reports. It always makes my fans, teammates and the organization not know where I might stand,” he told The Athletic this week. “I can’t be responsible for how someone feels when they’re processing what they’re reading. What I’m upset about is, sometimes, I can’t control my own narrative.”
From there, he doubled down on his previous comments about the organization.
“In terms of the Hawks and Atlanta, I don’t need to talk about it because I’ve talked about it enough. This is where I want to be.”
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Regarding Reports of His Frustration
Collins further criticized the reporting that has led to questions about his happiness with the club.
“Sometimes, the headline of the article is a lot more intriguing than what’s actually written — what I didn’t like is [Charania] took a quote from my post-game press conference and sort of created a dialogue from it talking about my usage is down,” he said.
“In terms of voicing it and saying something, of course, I am frustrated. We’re not doing well. You could say he’s right, but I haven’t outwardly spoken to anyone or voiced my frustration directly to my teammates. That, I feel like, gets lost a bit in the dialogue but, of course, I’m as frustrated as anyone is on this team as we’re losing and not doing as well as we should.”
He added, “Excuse my French, but I feel s***** that we’re 17-22. I’m mad that I’m not playing as well as I’d like to. Those feelings never leak into the gym. I don’t come in here and give my teammates or coaching staff or organization negative energy.”
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