John Collins
John Collins will continue to frequent the NBA rumor mill but his hefty contract remains a huge obstacle for interested teams. Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images

KEY POINTS

  • Christian Wood seems miffed at NBA trade rumors after the arrival of Kyrie Irving
  • John Collins' trade possibilities are shelved, but it may resurface in the offseason
  • Wood is using the trade talk as motivation to play better

The NBA trade deadline is finally over, and there were big-name players that either moved to new teams or had a homecoming of sorts.

However, some players were projected to be dealt away but were not.

Headlining that list were John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks and Christian Wood of the Dallas Mavericks.

It would be safe to say that the Hawks and the Mavericks will take their chances on these two cagers and likely figure out what to do with them once the 2022-23 NBA season is over.

John Collins was someone linked to several teams before the NBA trade deadline. Unfortunately, the Hawks were unable to work out a deal for the power forward and may have to wait until the offseason to get one done, Chris Haynes of the Bleacher Report reported.

A huge problem in any Collins trade scenario appears to be the $125 million contract extension he signed with Atlanta in 2021.

The 19th overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft is still owed nearly $52 million over the next two seasons. He also holds a $26.58 million player option for the 2025-26 season.

Among the teams allegedly interested in the 6-foot-9 cager include the Detroit Pistons, Utah Jazz and Brooklyn Nets.

It remains to be seen if these teams will still have interest after participating in NBA trade deadline transactions.

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Wood, on the other hand, has been also a frequent name mentioned in the trade chatter.

Critics took his rants about playing time as an indication, but nothing went beyond that.

More so, the arrival of Kyrie Irving led to more speculation about Wood being traded.

According to Tim McMahon of ESPN, the Mavs were shopping him and Tim Hardaway Jr. after the arrival of "Uncle Drew."

It would be best to note that Wood is on an expiring pact.

Hence, any move out of Dallas could happen in the summer. But this is only if the Mavs opt not to hand the 27-year-old cager a new contract.

Wood took exception to the rumors and said that these were disrespectful on Twitter.

Rather than take on them, the 6-foot-9 forward vows to use this as motivation for him to play better, at least until the end of this NBA season.

Christian Wood
Christian Wood will use the NBA trade rumor suggestions as motivation to play better until the end of this season. Sean Gardner/Getty Images