Mike Conley remains one of the greatest players to wear a Grizzlies jersey. At exit interviews today, following the Timberwolves' elimination, Conley left the door open to play another season. With the Grizzlies in the early stages of a new rebuild and Conley nearing the end of a successful career, an offseason reunion makes perfect sense for both.
Selected 4th overall by the Grizzlies in the 2007 NBA Draft, it would be quite the story for the fanbase to see Mike Conley return to Memphis. Beyond just a potential storybook ending, bringing back Conley makes plenty of sense for the Grizzlies to guide the early rebuild.
Mike Conley said he won’t be retiring: “I think I might’ve proved to myself I can play a little longer.”
— Chris Hine (@ChristopherHine) May 16, 2026
He’ll be a free agent this offseason.
The Grizzlies badly need veteran leadership as they rebuild
One key limiting factor that stopped the Grizzlies' Next Gen Era from building on a successful 2021-22 season was the lack of proven veterans. Even though Conley is obviously not in his prime anymore, his leadership would be a true asset for a Grizzlies team full of young talent. Not long ago, Anthony Edwards gave a glowing endorsement of Mike Conley's leadership and admired Conley's engagement to gameplans this late in his career.
The Grizzlies have promising young players in Cedric Coward and Zach Edey and could potentially select Duke's Cam Boozer with the #3 pick this summer. Beyond them, the Grizzlies have other gritty young players such as Jaylen Wells, Taylor Hendricks, and GG Jackson II. They have all shown promising flashes, but having another quality veteran mentor could prove to be beneficial.
It's something the Grizzlies should absolutely give thought to
Despite the Grizzlies bringing in Taj Gibson late this past season to have another leader in the locker room, Gibson's deal is non-guaranteed for next season. The Grizzlies will certainly have an intense roster crunch, led by a likely Ja Morant trade this upcoming summer. The Grizzlies have three top-32 picks they have to sign this summer and will almost certainly consolidate the guard position.
While the Grizzlies have to sort through a logjam of guards this offseason, Conley would be a great end-of-bench option. Conley played a career-low 18.4 minutes in 54 games this season; however, he still gave the Timberwolves reliable playoff minutes when called upon. Even though Conley will be 39 at the start of next year, he can still play occasional minutes while being a great veteran presence.
The Grizzlies have plenty of big priorities this offseason, such as crushing the 2026 NBA Draft and potentially finding the right deal to trade Ja Morant. However, despite any incoming roster crunch, the team should strongly entertain a potential reunion with Mike Conley this summer.
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