NBA Free Agency: Mike Conley Traded To Utah Jazz

Put the trade rumors to bed. The Mike Conley era has come to an end in Memphis, and it is looking like their former first-round selection by way of the 2007 NBA Draft will be replaced by a new first-round selection at the same position during Thursday evening’s NBA draft. The Grizzlies’ all-time leader in points will be heading West to help mold Quinn Snyder’s squad into a proverbial contender in the West.

Per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Conley was dealt to the Utah Jazz in exchange for some pieces of bench depth in Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, as well as the 23rd overall pick in this year’s draft and an additional first-round pick in next year’s draft.

Conley recently tweeted his thanks to the city of Memphis, Tennessee as he ventures to another chapter in his career.

The Grizzlies will get their first-round selection if the pick falls between the 8-14 range next year. If it does not, the same protection will apply in 2021. The protections decrease from there to top-6 six in 2022, top-3 in 2023 and top-1 in 2024 before converting to two second-round picks in 2025.

Upon the draft taking place tomorrow evening, it is more than likely that Memphis, who has the 2nd overall pick in this year’s draft will place the keys to the franchise in the hands of the versatile, self-dubbed “Point God”, Ja Morant. An overly-talented and abundantly-scouted point guard out of Murray State, Morant put up some pretty impressive numbers and highlights during his final year playing in the Ohio Valley Conference and drew some similarities to Russell Westbrook and Damian Lillard for his playmaking skills.

Looking forward to the upcoming season, the Jazz backcourt just got a lot better by pairing the young, athletic shooting guard in Donovan Mitchell to a defensive maestro in Conley, who earned NBA All-Defensive Second Team honors in 2013. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly evident that the Jazz will also see the departure of free-agent-to-be Ricky Rubio, their franchise point guard, to another destination since it is unlikely they can afford to keep both guards on one roster.

Jazz Head Coach Quinn Snyder will gain an intelligent, fundamentally sound point guard to run his offense, meaning that Mitchell will more than likely have more than enough floor spacing and additional coaching from Conley to develop into a perennial All-Star someday.

Moreover, Conley will fit right into Snyder’s Pick and Roll-heavy motion offense, and can expeditiously improve the abilities of other bigs in Rudy Gobert and Derrick Favors as well as skyrocket the numbers of their knockdown shooter in Joe Ingles during drive-kick scenarios.

Though the Jazz locker room may have gained another vocal presence on the floor and in the locker room, he does come at a substantial price. Conley will earn $32.5 million in 2019 through 20 and then $34.5 million the year after.

Both Memphis and Utah will not be able to make an official trade before June 6th. That is when the Jazz will be able to absorb the Conley deal with cap room left available. Because of this, the Jazz will end up selecting with the 23rd pick tomorrow night.