I REALLY hope he beats out Vonleh for the starting spot. Even if he doesn't earn it during training camp, I hope he earns it by mid-season. The bar is not high - all he has to do is play defense and not get his shot blocked around the basket.
To me, whether or not Collins works his way into the starting line up by season's end isn't all that critical. To me, it's all about his minutes. If he earns the minutes, I don't care if he is backing up both the 4 and 5 spots, or is starting at the 4 and backing up the 5 - as long as he's getting as many minutes as his play warrants.
I'd be fine with Vonleh continuing to star and get his usual 17 MPG. We don't really need scoring from the PF spot in our starting line up, just defense and rebounding. Vonleh did well in both of those areas when playing next to Nurk.
We do, however, need more scoring from the 2nd unit. Last year, our second unit scoring was WAY too dependent on C.J. He needs some help out there, and if Collins proves to be a decent offensive threat off the bench, that would be a big boost to the second unit.
Ultimately, it's more about who finishes the games than who starts. Let Vonleh start to, hopefully, keep Collins out of foul trouble, and then let Collins finish (assuming his play justifies it).
BNM