The Utah Jazz are trading John Collins to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for Kevin Love, Kyle Anderson and a Clippers’ 2027 second-round pick as part of a three-team deal with the Miami Heat, according to league sources.
ESPN was first to report the deal.
The Jazz have been trying to shed veterans from the roster in order to open up playing time for the younger players and avoid resting healthy players in order to lose games. Collins was the final veteran on an expiring deal that the Jazz were actively trying to move this summer after having already bought out Jordan Clarkson and traded Collin Sexton.
John Collins flipped the script in the 2024-25 season
Lauri Markkanen is now the Jazz’s only veteran holdover from the previous team.
Collins had a bit of a bounce-back season with the Jazz, which allowed for the Jazz to find some value in trading him. But, even though his offensive efficiency was great, his defensive abilities leave a lot to be desired and he played in just 40 games last year. And with the Jazz clearly chasing a high 2026 draft pick, the team has not been in a great position of power during trade negotiations.
That said, the Jazz will create a trade exception worth upwards of $26 million as part of the deal — which the team can use within the next calendar year to trade for other players. And, the Jazz don’t really need to worry about the impact on winning from the incoming players.
While Love and Anderson are still rotation capable, they are also aging and have contracts that could be easier to move. Love, who will be 37 when the 2025-26 season starts, is on an expiring deal that will pay him $4.1 million. Anderson, who will be 32 this season, has two years left on his deal ($9.1 million for 2025-26), but the final year is non-guaranteed.
The Jazz will have options on whether they try to move the players prior to the NBA trade deadline in February, waive them, or keep them on the roster to help with the incredibly young roster.
Now that Collins is headed to a team that has aspirations of contending, he’ll have a chance at signing an extension, which was not going to happen in Utah. At the end of last season Collins said that he’d be happy to play in Utah or anywhere else if he was going to be a part of the future plans, but being forced to sit when healthy was a struggle.
