NBA Trade Rumors: 5 Destinations For Memphis Grizzlies’ Mike Conley
By Chris Kern
Utah Jazz
The Utah Jazz may not have any interest in acquiring Conley but it’s something that they should discuss internally. They showed last season in the playoffs they’re legit when the beat the Thunder in the first round but they do need more if they want to make it any further.
They don’t have a lot of guys money wise who could make this work so it would be hard to get a deal done. Derrick Favors and Ricky Rubio are both starters who may both need to be included to make this deal work salary rise.
The Jazz are a team that plays well together so they may not be willing to make this happen because of that but Conley is a guy who would fit well on this team.
Donovan Mitchell is a focal point of the offense and Conley is more than capable of playing alongside him. He also is a really good defender and his salary would be coming off the books when they would need to pay Mitchell.
So at that point, they could let him go and find a younger point guard or they could bring him back for way less money.
If that is an option they would consider they don’t have a lot of young assets to give up in this deal. One of the only guys who would have value is Grayson Allen.
He hasn’t done much in his rookie season but if he ended up in Memphis he would be given a full chance to shine in a much larger role.
They have very little young talent at the guard spot and taking a chance on Allen could be worth it. Another young guy who could be considered is big man Tony Bradley.
He is just 21 years old but he has only played in one game this season due to injuries which could keep the Grizzlies from wanting him. At 21 he still could turn into a good player so maybe Memphis would be willing to bring him in.
Those two players could be involved in a deal but they certainly aren’t going to be the main pieces that are coming to Memphis. For this deal to get done I’m sure it would take pick(s) with the Jazz’s 2019 first-rounder being included.
A couple of other players who could be involved just to make it work salary wise are Dante Exum and Thabo Sefolosha.
If the Jazz decide to make this move they would expect to win more games and move up the standings. Right now they would have the 18th pick so it would be fair to expect that pick to be in the ’20s if this deal were to happen.
Yes, you can get good players at that spot but bringing in Conley is an upgrade over who they currently have and it’s even possible they could keep Rubio if they choose to do so.
Favors is a guy who could be involved because of his big money but the Jazz would want a replacement for him and they may not have that on their roster. The Grizzlies could also send JaMychal Green to Utah if that were to happen.
There aren’t a lot of options in a potential deal between these two teams but one package for Memphis could be Favors, Exum, Sefolosha, and Allen, to go along with a 2019 first-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick. In that scenario, Green could potentially head to Utah as well.
Again at the moment, it is unlikely the Jazz would make this deal because they like Rubio so much but it is possible they could keep him or even trade him in a separate deal.
It may seem unlikely they would trade for Conley with Rubio moving to the bench instead of him being involved in a trade. So it’s more likely he is involved in the deal but they do have options if they would want to keep him.