NBA Trade Rumors: Breaking Down How The Memphis Grizzlies Could Trade Mike Conley To The Utah Jazz

The Mike Conley NBA trade rumors have been pretty quiet over the past week. Teams continue to show interest and the Memphis Grizzlies may be able to send him to Utah.

These Mike Conley trade rumors continue to stay quiet but the Utah Jazz have shown interest and possibly have made the Memphis Grizzlies official offer as well. According to a piece in the Salt Lake Tribune by Andy Larsen, their offer features Ricky Rubio and their 2019 first-round pick.

It is important to note that the Grizzlies say they have received offers that include a better first-round pick than the current spot the Jazz are in. He mentioned the Detroit Pistons who are interested in Conley though he didn’t say for sure whether they offered a first round pick.

Based off of the situation they’re in I think we can assume that Detroit likely would be willing to give up their pick in a potential deal for Conley. While the market for Conley has been quiet this shows that more teams are interested than we currently know.

A few days ago it seemed as if Marc Gasol was the more likely player to be traded but now it seems like Conley will be traded at some point. If the Grizzlies really do have multiple offers that include first round picks then they would be foolish to not accept one of them assuming the other players involved made a little bit of sense.

While other teams are interested and possibly have made offers it seems that the Jazz are the most likely landing spot for Conley. The Jazz don’t have many young assets but if they’re willing to send Dante Exum and or Grayson Allen then these teams would be able to get a deal done.

The big names in this deal are the point guards though. Conley and Rubio are two of the most underrated players in the league and have never gotten the respect they deserve. Rubio has done many good things for Utah but they clearly feel they can improve at that spot by acquiring Conley.

While Rubio is on an expiring contract and likely would be on his way out of Memphis but he could still make an impact during his time there. He and Gasol would be a fun combination on the team as they are already familiar with each other from playing with the Spain national team as well as participating in other events together.

That is if Gasol is still on the team after the deadline. If he opts into his player option for next season than maybe Rubio would be interested in returning. We’ll have to wait and see what happens but it’s very unlikely Memphis would be able to find a point guard as good as he is.

Either way, this would be a good deal for them. Getting a first-round pick and getting Conley off their books while possibly bringing in another young player is a win for them. This is also a very good trade for the Jazz to make.

People will say that his salary makes it a bad deal but you have to think about who they would spend that money on. They won’t be able to sign a free agent as good as Conley. All the top name free agents are going to go to one of the larger markets.

When Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell need contract extensions then Conley’s money will be coming off the books. At that point, they could resign him for less money or move on from him. It’s hard to predict two years from now but the money shouldn’t be a factor.

He is a good fit alongside Mitchell and is seemingly a perfect fit on a team that plays so well together. This move isn’t enough to put them up there with the Golden State Warriors so some would argue that this move doesn’t matter.

Anything can happen in this league and if Kevin Durant and or Klay Thompson leave this summer then the door is open for teams to win the west. A Utah big three featuring Conley, Mitchell, and Gobert is more than capable of competing for a championship if they have a good core around them.

Derrick Favors is another guy who could be considered in this deal to make the salaries match up. The Jazz won’t want to give up their starting big without a replacement though. The Grizzlies could offer JaMychal Green who is more than capable of being the starting power forward.

The Jazz use a lot of small lineups that feature Jae Crowder and Joe Ingles at the forward spots so they wouldn’t need Green out there closing games. Utah would likely go with Conley, Mitchell, Crowder, Ingles, and Gobert at the end of games.

That may not be the flashiest lineup but that is a very good lineup on both ends of the floor and is capable of beating any team in a seven-game series outside of Golden State.

So this is a deal Utah could consider if they are willing to offer Favors in a trade as well. There are opportunities for a deal to happen without Green and Favors but the Grizzlies are also shopping Green so this could be a good move for them. It’s also possible Garrett Temple could be involved if the Jazz wanted some extra wing depth.

If the Jazz want to get this deal done it seems that they will have to up their offer. This should be enough to get it done. They will have to decide how much they want Conley, it’s possible their original deal will be enough but over the next week or so teams will become more and more desperate.

The Grizzlies will continue to field phone calls from other teams interested in Conley. The Jazz may need to give up more than they would like to get this deal done. It’ll be interesting to see how the next week unfolds.

After many people were telling us how he wasn’t drawing much interest it seems that many teams are looking to acquire the veteran point guard. If it isn’t with Utah I think we can still expect Conley to be on his way out of Memphis in the next week.