Welcome to the Morning Shootaround, where every weekday you’ll get a fresh, topical column from one of SI.com’s NBA writers: Howard Beck on Mondays, Chris Mannix on Tuesdays, Michael Pina on Wednesdays, Chris Herring on Thursdays and Rohan Nadkarni on Fridays.
Late last month, on the day of the trade deadline, John Collins woke up in a Bay Area hotel room with sunlight on his face. He went down to the gym and got an early lift in, had a phone call with his agent and a chat with his uncle.