There’s one week until the NBA’s trade deadline, but rumors around the NBA are already heating up. In particular, there’s been significant reporting around Utah Jazz forward John Collins and a potential move to the Sacramento Kings.
Sacramento beat writer and radio host James Ham gave the following report on his show The Insiders on Sacramento’s ESPN1320: “I know [the Kings] had a deal worked out for somebody a week ago, and they went and told their players … and then they didn’t do it.”
Ham was later asked if the proposed deal was for Collins — to which he said yes.
For a team to tell their players about a deal that didn’t go through would be unusual, even if Sacramento has had numerous recorded instances of disconnects between staff and players in recent years.
At the Jazz’s morning shootaround before their game against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, Collins discussed the trade rumors.
The veteran forward said he had not been informed of any deal involving the Kings.
“I saw some rumors, but I definitely didn’t hear that,” he said.
“Whatever Sacramento is doing, that’s, you know, their prerogative, if it involves me or not. Obviously, I would have found out,” he continued. “But I’m kind of happy I just didn’t have that news — sorry, nothing against Sacramento — just kind of happy I didn’t have that news hit my phone. I’ve just got to continue to be the best professional I can be and continue playing basketball.”
What would Collins think of a trade away from Utah? On one hand, it would shake up his life significantly, but on the other, it might lead to playing more for a competitive team.
“It’s a Catch-22. It’s something that I try not to think about because I would get lost in it. And that’s why I just say I’m just happy that I found a nice group of guys here who can talk me through all of the trade rumors. You know what I mean?” Collins said. “Because this is not an easy thing mentally, to think about whether, it might be a better situation or worse situation, and whatever situation is out there, it’s not my current one. So it’s hard for me to think about that and focus.
“So I just really try not to think about it, and try to be the best pro I can. Because I really have no control over when, or where that is to, and whenever that would happen, I would have to restart again. So it’s just a whole process that — I want to handle it when I get to that bridge, if I get there."
Ham isn’t the only reporter who has noted Sacramento at least having significant interest in a Collins deal. Longtime NBA insider Marc Stein said that Collins was a trade “target” of Sacramento’s, while ClutchPoints' Brett Siegel said that the conversations had advanced to final steps before putting the deal on ice — with the deal consisting of a package of Kevin Huerter, former Jazz draft pick Trey Lyles, a protected first-round pick and a second-round pick.
What might’ve led to the deal’s scuttling? It’s not clear, but one potential explanation is the emergence of discussions featuring franchise point guard De’Aaron Fox. Fox, a potential free agent in the offseason in 2026, might be moved now as the Kings fight for a playoff spot.
Collins says he’s split on seeing his name in the news.
“In a weird way, sometimes it’s fun. Sometimes I feel like a kid with a trade rumor, it’s just like my NBA fandom,“ Collins said. ”But other times it just puts you in, like, a little bit of purgatory. You’re just in a little bit of a mundane area, you don’t know how to feel.
“That’s why I say, for me, it’s just going back to respecting the game, loving my craft, and trying to find some love there. It’s definitely not an easy thing to see your name being thrown around. But, you know, it’s part of the business. I’ve been through it before in Atlanta and whatnot. The game comes with it.”
