John Collins may not be playing in the NBA for a while.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.)
First, it was DeAndre Ayton of the Phoenix Suns. This morning, it was John Collins of the Atlanta Hawks. Here’s Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:
And here’s the NBA press release:
I’ll quote Woj QUOTING Collins. His tweets weren’t exactly in a nice thread:
“First, I want to apologize to my teammates, the Hawks organization, our fans, partners, and community as a whole for this situation. I understand the impact this matter has on what we are trying to achieve together this season and I am incredibly frustrated and disappointed in myself for putting all us in this position. I have always been incredibly careful about what I put in my body but I took a supplement, which unbeknownst to me, had been contaminated with an illegal component. I plan to appeal my suspension in arbitration so I can get back on the court as soon as possible and continue to contribute to our 2019-20 campaign.”
If Collins stays suspended, it’s a big blow for the Hawks, who looked pretty promising out of the gate. They have lost their last three games (the last two in a home-and-home against Miami) but the dynamite Trae Young got hurt in the first Miami game. Their other loss was to the then-undefeated Sixers so that’s always a tough game. As Collins goes out, Trae Young is likely back in tonight against San Antonio as they play the second contest of their four-game home stand. It’s never a good time to get suspended but a bad start could quickly doom a young, promising team back to the lottery.
As mentioned, it’s the second high-profile drug-related suspension this season. DeAndre Ayton is also out for 25 games. (Wilson Chandler of the Brooklyn Nets was also hit with the same 25-game suspension in the offseason.)
Collins won all-rookie honors for the 2017-18 season. He’s kind of gone under the radar as a very good NBA player. Collins is averaging 17 points, 8.8 boards, and 2 blocks per in 5 games this season.
Rey-Rey is on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.
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