3 Heavily-rumored trade targets Spurs reportedly never wanted

2. John Collins, Atlanta Hawks

In the rumors that just wouldn't die, John Collins has been a name the San Antonio Spurs can't escape dating way back to last offseason. As an athletic, 6-9 forward-center, he's always made sense as someone who could thrive in San Antonio since that type of player is exactly what they've been missing.

Still, injuries and inconsistency plagued the 24-year-old last season, and there have been warranted concerns about if he's worth a lucrative contract. In the end, I feel like the same reason the Spurs apparently weren't interested in taking on Collins is the same as with Ayton -- money and situation.

Originally, it looked like San Antonio still did have interest in Collins when exploring trade options for Murray.

Around the same time, Ellis was reporting Collins would likely be traded to a third team if he was going to be involved in a trade for Dejounte Murray. He later reported the Spurs were more interested in as many unprotected first round picks as they could get instead.

Last year, I was hopeful the Spurs would be able to plug a guy like Collins into their system. Considering all the assets they just received back from Atlanta, though, I'm happy with this result.