This deal had been discussed at the trade deadline in February and rumored ever since. It’s something the Jazz really wanted to happen: to put another high-level shot creator and shooter next to Donovan Mitchell.
They got their man.
Mike Conley Jr. is going to be a member of the Utah Jazz.
Memphis reportedly is trading Conley to Utah for a package that includes Grayson Allen, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder, the 23rd pick in Thursday’s Draft and a future first-round pick. Shams Charania of The Athletic broke the story, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN fleshed out the details.
The parties involved confirmed the trade, although it can’t be executed until July 6 for salary cap reasons.
Conley averaged 21.1 points and 6.4 assists per game last season, shot 36.4 percent from three and plays strong defense. He is a fantastic scorer and decision maker in the pick-and-roll. Conley is maybe the most underrated player in the NBA, a borderline All-Star level point guard (he should have made it one year) and for Utah a healthy upgrade over Ricky Rubio at the point.
With the gate to winning the West having swung open, the Jazz believe they are ready to walk through it — a 50-win team two seasons in a row, an elite defense, an All-NBA center in Rudy Gobert, and an elite shot creator in Donovan Michell. Yet for two playoffs in a row, when Utah got bounced by Houston (4-1 in the first round this year), it was painfully clear what has kept the team from being truly elite: Another shot creator and shooter. Utah can run all the flex cuts, X cuts, Iverson cuts and everything else in its beautiful offense, but come the playoffs there is a point where a team just needs players who can just go get a bucket. Mitchell could do that, but the best teams can blanket one guy and take him away. The Jazz now have two, and a guy that fits the system.
It is expensive, however. Conley makes $32.5 million this season and has a player option he’s expected to pick up for next season at $34.5 million. This takes the Jazz out of the running in free agency. However, the Jazz have never faired all that well in free agency and this was a sure thing. Conley is expensive, but with only two years left on his contract a lot of teams (Indiana is at the front of that list) wanted to land him. Utah did.
The Grizzlies get building blocks for their rebuild with the picks and Grayson Allen. The reason the trade didn’t happen at the deadline was Memphis wanted two first round picks, they didn’t get it then but they do now.
This is a team being built around Jaren Jackson Jr. and to-be-drafted Thursday Ja Morant, these other players will need to fit with them. The grit n’ grind era has been over for a while, this is just the final nail in the coffin. The Grizzlies face different challenges now.
Don’t be surprised to see Kover and Crowder are cut loose or traded to playoff teams looking for more help.
