The Hawks currently have 15 guys on their roster for the 2023-2024 season, and if they stand pat without any changes they will be 9 million over the tax line with a tax bill of 14 mill. I don't think the ownership group will have interest in paying that with a team destined for a first round exit like this year.

John Collins is owed around 25m per year for the next 3 years if you include his player option that he will definitely pick up. Dumping him to the Jazz will allow allow the hawks to stay under the tax for the season and will give them more flexibility for when they will need to pay Murray or Bey next year. This also allows them to use their mid level exception while still remaining under the tax for the year.

I think it would be hard for the Hawks to stomach attaching a first round pick to move Collins but at this point what other options would they have to get under the tax? And with how poorly Collins has played this year both in the regular season and in the playoffs against the Celtics, I don't think any team would take him without either getting draft compensation or unless they could send a bad contract back in return.