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Memphis Grizzlies Need Not to Ponder Mike Conley for John Wall Trade Scenario

By Christian Dudley

Mike Conley Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
Mike Conley Memphis Grizzlies (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 30: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards shoots the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies on October 30, 2018 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images)
MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 30: John Wall #2 of the Washington Wizards shoots the ball against the Memphis Grizzlies on October 30, 2018 at FedExForum in Memphis, Tennessee. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Joe Murphy/NBAE via Getty Images) /

The Downside

There is no doubting that both Mike Conley and John Wall are tremendous players in their own right. They are perhaps the league’s two best two-way point guards. They control their team’s offensive flow exceptionally well, and they are able to lock up on defense and take care of business.

If you were to swap these guys’ locations, things would operate vastly different, though. Conley is more of a pass-first floor general, yet Wall is seemingly always in attack-mode.

This potential swap has quite a bit of win-win sense to it, and ultimately it is done by Washington to clear the air and move onto greener pastures. On Memphis’ side, the deal would be done to scoop a big-time player while the getting is good.

On paper, there is not much downside to this hypothetical trade idea, except that John Wall’s contract explodes beyond the 2018-19 season. After signing a contract extension with the Washington Wizards, his salary will soon double in size.

Earning $19,169,800 this season, Wall is set to make $38,150,000 next season and $41,202,000 after that. It only goes up from there.

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Yes, this is the direction of the NBA. Players are signing insanely large contract extensions, but John Wall is a big salary to take on beyond this season.

The Memphis Grizzlies currently own three maximum contract players including Mike Conley, who spent a very short amount of time as the NBA’s highest-paid player after inking his current deal.

To put this into comparison, Conley is raking in a whopping $30,521,115 this season and will “max out” at $34,502,130 in 2020-21. When placing Mike’s earnings next to Wall’s future earnings, it is easy to see that the Grizzlies are receiving solid bang for their buck.

Is it worth taking on $10+ million more per season to keep John Wall in a Grizzlies uniform for a little while longer? He is already 28 years old, just three years younger than Mike Conley. This makes it even tougher to walk away from Captain Clutch.

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