The Brooklyn Nets are in the middle of an important season as they seek to improve from a lowly 20-62 record during the 2025-26 campaign that Nets fans would like to forget sooner than later. Brooklyn is hoping they can select a franchise-level player with the No. 6 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but could they target someone like Los Angeles forward John Collins in free-agency?
“John Collins is in an interesting place. He was fairly productive for LA, but was a bit pricey for the role they had him in. Collins could have similar offers moneywise from teams that are closer to contention than the Clippers are,” Keith Smith wrote on Collins for Spotrac when previewing the Clippers’ offseason. Collins is coming off a 2025-26 season in which he made $26.5 million during the season where Los Angeles went from contending to rebuilding.
“Unless a deal is short-term and comes in around the Non-Taxpayer MLE amount, LA will likely let Collins walk,” Smith continued on Collins. Given that the Nets have kept their future salary cap sheets relatively-clean, they are projected to be one of just a few teams to have enough space to sign a talented player or two over the course of the summer.
Collins, 28, is coming off a down season for him compared to some of his best years with the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks. For a Clippers team that looked like it was going to be able to cause some damage in the postseason thanks to the partnership of Kawhi Leonard and James Harden, Collins averaged 13.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while shooting 55.2% from the field and 40.6% from behind the three-point line.
Even though the Nets could practically free up around $48 million in cap space this offseason, they still have to consider extensions for players like forwards Michael Porter Jr. and Noah Clowney along with center Nic Claxton. However, if the Clippers decide to move on from Collins, Brooklyn could be one of the teams able to pay him what he’s looking for in free-agency, assuming he wants to make close to what he made on his last contract.
This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Should the Nets target Clippers’ John Collins in 2026 NBA free-agency?
Reporting by Sharif Phillips-Keaton, Nets Wire / Nets Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
