The Ski School Movie Villainry of Zach Collins

[Mr. Body]

Not sure of Zach has one of these. Man, he's way better than I ever thought he'd become, and I hope it continues. To me he was a project who might become a backup after getting his foot healthy.

There were games after Poeltl left where Zach was the best player on both sides of the court. Of course those were games when we were out of any kind of contention and teams weren't taking us seriously. But he looks amazing right now. His range pulls out the bigs, he may be a better passer than Jakob was, and he has a sweet baby hook in his post arsenal. Plus he's a dick who will go aggro in an instant (for better or worse).

Legit think he could become a top-half of starting centers in the league this season.

[RC_Drunkford]

people need to realize that this guy basically only played 3 full seasons. This will be his 4th so improvement has to be expected. The best comparison for him is Al Horford and I think everybody knows that Horford is a championship level starter.

[BG_Spurs_Fan]

Remember when STers wanted JCollins, we got Zollins and everyone was on suicide watch.

Hope he gets a nice extension.

[cd98]

This guy could end up being on Team USA given our lack of American centers.

[Chinook]

Remember when STers wanted JCollins, we got Zollins and everyone was on suicide watch.

Hope he gets a nice extension.

Yep, Collins has definitely acquitted himself well. I worried pretty hard core that the Spurs had overpaid for a trial contract, but Zach seems to at least be to a normal level of health now. Meanwhile, John's best basketball seems to be behind him, at least until his contract is up and he can potentially find a team that will actually want him. Zach has earned himself a payday, though I still think the true starting center of the Spurs isn't on the team yet.

[spurraider21]

Yep, Collins has definitely acquitted himself well. I worried pretty hard core that the Spurs had overpaid for a trial contract, but Zach seems to at least be to a normal level of health now. Meanwhile, John's best basketball seems to be behind him, at least until his contract is up and he can potentially find a team that will actually want him. Zach has earned himself a payday, though I still think the true starting center of the Spurs isn't on the team yet.
not many centers can provide what he does on offense though. is a big and skilled enough post players to punish teams that abandon the paint if wemby draws people out. we've seen collins absolutely eat in the paint this preseason, and can abuse mistmatches down low in ways poeltl/splitter couldnt

and then is able to step out and hit 3's and make good passes

his defense kind of comes and goes, and he's not remarkable on the boards, but his offensive ability isnt going to be easy to replace. without going bonkers and listing guys like towns, embiid, jokic, sabonis... you're looking at horford (old, on a contender), brolo (old, on a contender), and what... vucevic? id rather have collins than vuc

[SpursBills]

He’s UFA after this season - what do you think he’s in line for and can we keep him if he keeps this up? To me he’s actually the ideal fit in this starting lineup as a guy who can space and pass while having enough defensive chops to defend the bigger centers in the league when he has help. He’s probably in line for 17 million a year though if you use poeltl and Brook lopez’s contracts as a comp

[scott]

Are we past the opportunity to extend Zach?

I worry about losing him as a UFA for nothing - that would be painful.

[PhantomDashCam]

Great thread title OP.
I’ll gladly eat humble pie on this signing. He’s a legit starting 5 with borderline All-Star potential.
He’s one of the best Offensive Post Bigs in this current NBA climate who routinely punishes size mis-matches (which is an absolute must for future Playoff success).

[exstatic]

Are we past the opportunity to extend Zach?

I worry about losing him as a UFA for nothing - that would be painful.

He's not on a rookie contract, so timing isn't the issue, it's his current $7M salary. That limits what the extension can be, financially. The good news is that we have GOBS of cap room next summer, so that if he wants to stay, I don't think finances will be an issue. We signed him when his own drafting team wouldn't even extend him. I don't think he'll forget that.

[RC_Drunkford]

He’s UFA after this season - what do you think he’s in line for and can we keep him if he keeps this up? To me he’s actually the ideal fit in this starting lineup as a guy who can space and pass while having enough defensive chops to defend the bigger centers in the league when he has help. He’s probably in line for 17 million a year though if you use poeltl and Brook lopez’s contracts as a comp

that‘s the exact number I‘m looking at as well

[scott]

He's not on a rookie contract, so timing isn't the issue, it's his current $7M salary. That limits what the extension can be, financially. The good news is that we have GOBS of cap room next summer, so that if he wants to stay, I don't think finances will be an issue. We signed him when his own drafting team wouldn't even extend him. I don't think he'll forget that.

Thanks. Would be nice to keep him. This is probably going to be the best contract he'll sign as a pro, hopefully it's with us in a way that works if he is going to be our starter OR in an elite backup role (say, for example, we draft someone like Alex Sarr, though I really don't think we'll be in contention to pick him unless something goes terribly wrong, in which case it might have traded Zach at the deadline anyway)

[Atl Spur]

Not sure of Zach has one of these. Man, he's way better than I ever thought he'd become, and I hope it continues. To me he was a project who might become a backup after getting his foot healthy.

There were games after Poeltl left where Zach was the best player on both sides of the court. Of course those were games when we were out of any kind of contention and teams weren't taking us seriously. But he looks amazing right now. His range pulls out the bigs, he may be a better passer than Jakob was, and he has a sweet baby hook in his post arsenal. Plus he's a dick who will go aggro in an instant (for better or worse).

Legit think he could become a top-half of starting centers in the league this season.

You know better than this sir….smh

[spurraider21]

im probably wrong on this, but my understanding is that collins can only sign an extension where the first year pay is 140% of what his pay is this year, which would be a starting salary of just under 11mil. if thats the case, it certainly would explain why an extension hasnt been signed. he'd easily clear that in the market as a free agent

[Mr. Body]

You know better than this sir….smh

Better than what

[spurraider21]

cant think of anybody here who liked the collins signing at the time. it wasnt exactly throwaway "lets take a flier" money on a guy who's career never took off. his per 36 numbers in his first couple of years were... fine? and then derailed by injury in year 3, missed the entirety of year 4. Plus much of his appeal was his mobility

it was really unclear if he'd ever have a full recovery, and was also unclear as to exactly what the prize was if he did recover, as he wasnt that good before the injuries either. but not only has he recovered, he's also been able to develop and improve his game at the same time, which is an awesome outcome for both him and the club

https://i.gyazo.com/565e4a20b95719f0033c162b2fb2b665.png

[Atl Spur]

cant think of anybody here who liked the collins signing at the time. it wasnt exactly throwaway "lets take a flier" money on a guy who's career never took off. his per 36 numbers in his first couple of years were... fine? and then derailed by injury in year 3, missed the entirety of year 4

it was really unclear if he'd ever have a full recovery, and was also unclear as to exactly what the prize was if he did recover, as he wasnt that good before the injuries either. but not only has he recovered, he's also been able to develop and improve his game at the same time, which is an awesome outcome for both him and the club

https://i.gyazo.com/565e4a20b95719f0033c162b2fb2b665.png

You’re joking right? We have a whole ten page thread that says otherwise.

[Atl Spur]

Better than what

You commented plenty of times in the Zollins Malibu thread….. spurs talk is the twilight zone!

[mystargtr34]

I can see Zach putting up 13-9-4 and a block in 30 MPG. If he can hit ~36% 3FG and manages 60+ games then he'll probably get $16-20 million per over 3 or 4 years.

[exstatic]

cant think of anybody here who liked the collins signing at the time. it wasnt exactly throwaway "lets take a flier" money on a guy who's career never took off. his per 36 numbers in his first couple of years were... fine? and then derailed by injury in year 3, missed the entirety of year 4. Plus much of his appeal was his mobility

it was really unclear if he'd ever have a full recovery, and was also unclear as to exactly what the prize was if he did recover, as he wasnt that good before the injuries either. but not only has he recovered, he's also been able to develop and improve his game at the same time, which is an awesome outcome for both him and the club

https://i.gyazo.com/565e4a20b95719f0033c162b2fb2b665.png

He was a 37% 3 point shooter, and was in the top 5 in opp/FG% at the rim in year 3. There was definitely something there if he recovered. Unsurprisingly, Portland’s team surgeon botched the first attempt, but the TeamUSA surgeon fixed him up with his second surgery. I was at the Austin game where he played for the first time in 18 months.

[spurraider21]

He was a 37% 3 point shooter, and was in the top 5 in opp/FG% at the rim in year 3. There was definitely something there if he recovered. Unsurprisingly, Portland’s team surgeon botched the first attempt, but the TeamUSA surgeon fixed him up with his second surgery. I was at the Austin game where he played for the first time in 18 months.
Year 3 was an 11 game sample size

[RC_Drunkford]

cant think of anybody here who liked the collins signing at the time. it wasnt exactly throwaway "lets take a flier" money on a guy who's career never took off. his per 36 numbers in his first couple of years were... fine? and then derailed by injury in year 3, missed the entirety of year 4. Plus much of his appeal was his mobility

it was really unclear if he'd ever have a full recovery, and was also unclear as to exactly what the prize was if he did recover, as he wasnt that good before the injuries either. but not only has he recovered, he's also been able to develop and improve his game at the same time, which is an awesome outcome for both him and the club

https://i.gyazo.com/565e4a20b95719f0033c162b2fb2b665.png

that‘s not true. I didn’t like the salary number, but after it became clear that only half of it was guaranteed I was fine with it. I wanted the Spurs at that time to pull every rabbit out the hat possible including a reclamation project and Collins was the perfect one

[KingKev]

Not sure of Zach has one of these. Man, he's way better than I ever thought he'd become, and I hope it continues. To me he was a project who might become a backup after getting his foot healthy.

There were games after Poeltl left where Zach was the best player on both sides of the court. Of course those were games when we were out of any kind of contention and teams weren't taking us seriously. But he looks amazing right now. His range pulls out the bigs, he may be a better passer than Jakob was, and he has a sweet baby hook in his post arsenal. Plus he's a dick who will go aggro in an instant (for better or worse).

Legit think he could become a top-half of starting centers in the league this season.

He had the Malibu Beach house thread because of his pretty boy esthetic.

[mudyez]

Just love that guy...and hope for him going Rambo style all the time.

[Dverde]

I put together a visual aid. I’ll try to do another when I can find a better photo with the headband :lol

https://i.postimg.cc/x1DB9gQf/2-E64-C452-EAC0-41-F9-9828-9-AB5069-E503-F.jpg

[John B]

He's not on a rookie contract, so timing isn't the issue, it's his current $7M salary. That limits what the extension can be, financially. The good news is that we have GOBS of cap room next summer, so that if he wants to stay, I don't think finances will be an issue. We signed him when his own drafting team wouldn't even extend him. I don't think he'll forget that.

He enjoys playing for Pop and obviously enjoys the camaraderie, evident by his off-season pictures with the guys. Also it’s a big motivation to play along Wemby who could be NBA’s best player in 3-4 years, and the possibility of playing for a championship every year. And I think Collins would rather win than get a higher paycheck. He is a winner. There’s that dog in him to compete every game. He said, “he only knows one gear,” when he blocked Barlow’s shot and brought both guys down. And that’s what I was looking from Poeltl, that incessant fire to compete. Collins will not back down from anyone. He has that “nasty” in him. I think he will be rewarded with a good contract by the Spurs, while still reasonable to still afford re-signing Sochan, Branham and getting good help. It’s a great motivation to stay with an organization who he knows could potentially compete for a long time, and potentially playing his entire career, with Spurs known to take care of its players. Good stuff.

[scott]

Are we past the opportunity to extend Zach?

I worry about losing him as a UFA for nothing - that would be painful.

Guess not.