Speaking to EssentiallySports' Mark Medina, Collins spoke on why Harden and Kawhi should be on All-Star reserves, "If you need somebody to step up or you need somebody to call upon, I feel like those two dudes are so equipped and so experienced for any situation. That sort of relaxes me a little bit. Just being able to look over there and see Kawhi Leonard and James Harden and know that those guys have been through the trenches and are still here and staying strong. These ‘Uncs’ can still hoop. They’re still going hard. They’re still at the top of their game.

Collins also opened up about his love for this team, “The biggest part for me has been T-Lue. There’s been a better trust and better relationship with him as well as with Coach Jeremy and JVG. It starts off with the coaches and their willingness to buy into me and help me improve genuinely, as well as the ability to learn the game from Kawhi and James."

"I’m trying not to talk about just the LA part. I try to look at the basketball part. Obviously, LA is amazing with the city. There’s tons to do. There’s great weather. I don’t love the traffic. Who does? But in terms of the basketball and the arena, Steve Ballmer has been an amazing owner. He’s obviously somebody that is trying to invest into the team and the city. He has good energy, and I’m trying to be part of a place that exudes good energy.”

Addressing the trade rumors in media, Collins had a strong answer: "What happens with management and trade deadlines, that’s all sort of the same every year. There’s the stories and the machines. But for me, it’s just the basketball. What’s different out there is the biggest part for me. But whatever the media and trade rumors want to say, that’s what they do. You just block it out. It really doesn’t faze me. I just see it as part of the game.”

10 comments

  1. Thanks for sharing. That was a good read. I doubt Collins gets traded now. Also great to see Kobe contributing to team energy. I do not want to see Bogi play another minute though

  4. I’d love to re-sign him with hopes of him taking a team friendly contract with all these considered so that we could have more money to allocate to others in hopes of remaining contenders til we start regaining some draft capital.

  5. for the love of God DO NOT trade Collins, he just found himself on the team, he’s MAD agressive these last few games and thats one of the reasons for our comeback. (agressive on D and on the rim)

  6. if we are going to trade someone, it’s gonna be Bogi, he’s recieving 16 mil to run the locker room. trade him and some SRPs for Sexton/Klay.

  7. Please don’t trade Collins
    Unless it’s for a first round picks . We don’t need anymore aging vets like a derozan. He fits in well with this squad and knows his role.

  9. I liked the dude from game 1, sure he wasn’t too effective in the beginning, but you could see he was trying, making an effort, and we now see he acclimated with the team and is much better

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