Jazz's John Collins Reacts to Resting During Tanking Season

During the Utah Jazz's 2024-25 regular season, it was a year filled with one major focus from the front office: tanking.

It's something the Jazz have toyed with during the first two years of their rebuild, but not fully invested in from start to finish of a season. However, this time was different. Utah dove deep in their bag of tricks to bottom out, truly lean into their young talent, and with it came their aspired high odds in this summer's draft lottery.

From a front office perspective, landing those high draft odds is a great step for the big picture of the rebuild. For veterans like John Collins, who inevitably found their way on the bench with an "injury designation" more times than not, resting to help the Jazz's long-term vision, it's not as fun a process to undergo.

"It's a sticky situation," Collins said. "Something that I've never necessarily been a part of."

Collins played in just 40 games across his most recent season. He missed 24 of Utah's 28 games past the All-Star Break with an ankle sprain, and with it came Utah's expansive tank.

For Collins, a strong competitor, sitting out of the action when you could likely suit up to play and make a nice winning impact is a tough situation to be in. Yet, the veteran ensured to take things in the best way he could by trying to respect the game in the best way he could in the meantime.

"Going towards respect of the game, that's like the only way I can really not think about it too much without driving myself crazy. Making sure I still work out when I can, lift when I can, lead, be a professional. Be as professional as I can be to respect the game, and the craft, and all the good energy I've built up. That's how I get through it, figure it out, or whatever the case may be... A speed bump I've never really seen before, but something that we figure out."

Tanking and the trends and sometimes-shady practices surrounding it have been an extremely hot topic around NBA circles in recent years, and it's for good reason. On paper, if players are healthy, you'd expect those guys to play. But, for a front office, it's not quite that simple from a team-building perspective.

Could there be moves to prevent those tanking measures from happening around the league? In the mind of Collins, doing so could be tough to iron out.

"Where there are rules, there are line-steppers or rule-benders, people who are just going to figure out a way to go around the rules, and I feel like that's sort of just the NBA way to figure it out," Collins said. "Whether it be within the rules, not within the rules, it's, again, a sticky situation... It's a tough battle, but I'm not sure what can be done."