The Atlanta Hawks are finalizing a deal to send PF John Collins to the Utah Jazz, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will bring back SF Rudy Gay and a future second-rounder for Collins, who has three years left on his current contract worth $78 million with a player option for the final season. Here we’re going to break down the Hawks’ cap situation.
Hawks salary cap space
The Hawks are still capped out even after shedding Collins’ deal. The NBA salary cap max is $136 million. The luxury tax threshold is set at $165 million. The Hawks sit above the salary cap but below the luxury tax threshold. So Atlanta has around $13 million before the luxury tax kicks in. Moving Collins could just be the first of a few moves that gets the Hawks into territory to add another big contract.
The most likely candidate to be dealt is SF Bogdan Bogdanovic, who has one year left on his contract worth $18 million. PG Dejounte Murray is also on an expiring deal worth around $17 million. It doesn’t appear the Hawks are looking to move Murray but that could become an option if things don’t go well. Moving Bogdanovic to clear some space to add another star to Murray and Young, plus Clint Capela would make the Hawks an intriguing contender in the stacked East.