3 Spurs whose roles aren't safe after the trade deadline

Zach Collins

When Zach Collins landed in San Antonio during summer 2021, the signing was a bit of a risk considering he was still sidelined after having surgery on his foot. The team signed him in free agency to a three-year deal not knowing if he would return looking anything like the player he was before missing extended time.

After coming back mid-season during 2021-22, Collins has slowly increased his level of play and now looks like the player many had envisioned he could be before his injuries. But in the last several weeks since returning from a turned ankle, he has been another guy that has struggled to build consistent production.

Since returning on January 19, Collins has been averaging just 8.0 points and 3.8 rebounds while shooting just 41 percent from the floor and an astonishing six percent from three-point range. Chalk it up to an extended slump stemming from coming back from an injury, but Collins has not looked like the player the Spurs need him to be recently.

Add to his falling numbers the fact that Collins is a fiery player that can tend to get himself into trouble, and it is not hard to see Gregg Popovich deciding to supplant his minutes going forward.