In a perfect world, the Utah Jazz would move John Collins to the bench as the sixth or seventh guy, let him abuse the second-team defenders, and wrack up huge games off the bench. This is the perfect spot for the forward/center, as he would be able to impact the team offensively but would be protected defensively.

Right now, as the team’s starting center, Collins isn’t cutting it. He clearly doesn’t want to come off the bench and his fit with the Utah Jazz is not what anyone expected. Collins had the weirdest season for the Jazz in 2023-2024. On one hand, he defied critics. He became a reliable offensive weapon who did some real damage from all three levels of scoring. Yet, as a defensive player, he was often out of position, slow to rotate over, and was hardly the rim protector needed.

He is not a fit with the Utah Jazz, though he did prove himself to be a good player. The sad reality is that he’s just too expensive and is playing a role far bigger than what he should be playing. He’s the 2021-2022 Jordan Clarkson in a lot of ways. A very good player when on offense but not so much when the team moves to the defensive side of things.

So with the new rumor from Evan Sidery of Forbes Sports stating that the Jazz are in fact preparing to shop Collins around, we’re not mad about it. If he was a role player off the bench and made half the money he made, he’d be a critical piece for the Jazz’s future. However, he makes too much and demands far too big of a role to be successful with the Jazz.

He can find some success elsewhere in the NBA, on a team better suited to hide his flaws and utilize his strengths but the Jazz just aren’t that team.