This John Collins trade could make or break the Indiana Pacers

With most NBA players eligible to be traded now, trade rumors have been proliferating left and right. That is especially true for the Indiana Pacers, whose standing on the rumor mill should only become even more intense moving forward.

In fact, the Pacers have been recently linked to Atlanta Hawks forward John Collins, whose steadily declining role with the team could point to a likely exit from the only franchise he’s ever known, especially given their squad’s middling play so far in the season despite a marquee offseason addition.

John Collins has been linked to the Indiana Pacers

Speaking of win-loss cards, the Pacers are not much better than the Hawks in the present, though relative to expectations, the former has undoubtedly had the more successful season. That being said, Indiana’s roster is littered with flaws, the most major of which is their utter lack of a reliable power forward.

Collins, at least on paper, could arm the Pacers with a much-needed boost to their frontline. Fortunately, with the Hawks in urgent need of retooling their roster on the margins to better support their offensive fulcrums, the framework of a trade with the Blue and Gold should be more realistic than before.

Without further ado, let’s take a deep dive into one trade scenario involving the young forward and the Indiana Pacers.