Report: Soon-to-be free agent Zach Collins re-fractures foot

Soon-to-be free agent center Zach Collins has re-fractured his foot, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Portland Trail Blazers big had missed the entire 2020-21 season due to the injury and things have only gotten worse. Collins only played in 11 games in 2019-20 due to injuries, so it’s tough to see him bouncing back heading into free agency, which will begin at the start of August.

Collins was a first-round pick out of Virginia back in 2017, but hasn’t really been able to stay healthy enough to contribute. He’s shown flashes of promise in a short stint in 19-20, and the previous season in 77 games off the bench, sporting a 13.56 PER in a short sample. Collins may be worth a flier in free agency as a buy-low project who could contribute if he can stay healthy. That’s a big “if” at this point.

The Blazers enter an interesting offseason. Trade rumors continue to swirl around Damian Lillard and the franchise appears set to bring in Chauncey Billups to take over for Terry Stotts as head coach. Collins probably doesn’t figure into the future at all and won’t really impact the roster that much if he doesn’t come back (which appears likely).