Memphis Grizzlies: Mike Conley Wants To Play For A Winner Next Season

Mike Conley has helped build this Memphis Grizzlies team over the past decade. They have had a lot of success, but now it seems as if his time in Memphis is coming to an end.

The Memphis Grizzlies considered trading Mike Conley prior to the February NBA Trade Deadline before they decided to keep him around to help lead this team into the next chapter. They are expected to pursue deals this summer during the NBA Draft and free agency periods.

Conley has had an extraordinary career in Memphis. This is a city that has fallen in love with their team despite being a small market team. He has been one of the best point guards in the NBA over the past few seasons, but he hasn’t gotten the credit he deserves.

He is playing some of the best basketball of his career this season which is a big part of other teams being so interested despite his large contract. This season he has played in 69 games and is averaging 20.9 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game.

One of the reasons he could want out of Memphis is so he can get a chance to potentially make an all-star game. He has made it known he wants to be an all-star and when you’re a player as good as he is, you have the right to feel this way.

You have to be on a good team if you want to make an all-star team, especially in the western conference. There are so many good players in this conference that didn’t make the all-star game because they didn’t play on good enough teams, but there were also plenty of guys who played on really good teams and didn’t get in. Devin Booker and Rudy Gobert are two of the stars who weren’t selected to the all-star team this season.

While Conley certainly wants to be an all-star at some point in his career he also has other ambitions for the rest of his NBA career. He has made the playoffs in Memphis as well as winning series, but he wants more. He wants another chance to compete for the playoffs, whether that’s in Memphis or not, he wants a chance to win.

Many people feel like he wants to leave, but that isn’t necessarily the case. He very possibly could, but it isn’t anything against the team or city. He wants to win no matter where that is, but it seems as if that isn’t much of a possibility in Memphis.

With what he has done for this city, nobody should question his commitment to this team. There have been so many changes to the roster over the past couple of years and he continues to come to work every day like a true professional.

It’s not going to be his choice where he ends up. He can come out and say he doesn’t want to play in a certain place, but at the end of the day, he doesn’t get to pick. There were reports at the trade deadline that he didn’t want to go to Utah and they ended up not making a deal so maybe those reports were a part of that.

The Grizzlies front office is going to do what’s best for them. Mike Conley has done so much for this organization so hopefully, he gets some say in where he goes, but the team has to do what’s best for them. They have to do what’s best for them, but they also need to do right by Conley.

There were many teams interested him during the season so you would expect at least a few teams to be interested in him this summer. The Utah Jazz already made it known they will look to acquire him this offseason.

The Grizzlies pick getting conveyed could play a part in trade talks, but expect them to strongly consider trading him no matter if they have their first round draft pick or not. This is a team that needs to stockpile assets to build this team and trading Conley can be a great way to do that.

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This summer’s free agency is shaping up to be a crazy one as many teams are gearing up with one or two max slots to pursue the marquee free agents. There are too many openings for every team to be satisfied so teams will need to have a backup option if they do strikeout.

A few of these teams could consider trading for Mike Conley. One of the teams who could consider doing so is the Los Angeles Lakers. They have to get a star this summer to pair with Lebron James and if they’re unsuccessful in doing so in free agency and can’t get a deal done for Anthony Davis, then Conley could work for them.

A lot of factors will go into these teams pursuing them as they have free agents they would rather sign such as Kevin Durant, Klay Thompson, and Kyrie Irving. There are also many others who they could target so those guys will be at the top of teams list.

With so many teams looking to make a big splash this summer, Mike Conley certainly will have a lot of interest. If the Golden State Warriors break up then many teams will be trying to take the next stop. It’s hard to predict how free agency will turn out but expect Conley to be discussed in many front offices.