The Memphis Grizzlies have placed themselves in a bad position with the contract of Mike Conley Jr. While paying a player $30 million per season is nothing new, a contract that size is usually reserved for superstar players. Sorry to say Memphis, but Conley is far from that. With NBA rumors beginning to catch new life this offseason, will Mike Conley draw any real consideration? If so, is any team willing to take such a high gamble?
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While the Memphis Grizzlies have had some success with Conley running the point, there has yet to be an NBA Finals appearance or any indication that he’s even worth half of that contract.
With the Grizzlies looking to move forward with a rebuild by possibly trading their best player Marc Gasol, what does that mean for Conley? This past season has been another opportunity wasted for the highly paid point guard as injuries have set in again. Conley missed all but 12 games while averaging 17.1 points and 4.1 assists.
The issue with Conley is, is he the real deal or just a product of Gasol and Zach Randolph? When you have those type of players surrounding you, it’s easy to average six assists and 20 points per outing. With Randolph gone, Conley was forced to take on a larger role. However, the Grizzlies struggled without him. What teams will want to know before a trade is, are the Memphis Grizzlies a playoff team with him healthy?
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Will The Memphis Grizzles Be Able To Move Mike Conley?
What will kill any Conley trade besides his health is the contract. According to Spotrac, Conley is scheduled to make $30.5 million in 2018 then an additional $32.5 in 2019. After 2019, Conley has an early termination clause in his deal where he and Memphis can go their separate ways. But should any team make that deal?
Should any team be willing to let the Memphis Grizzlies off the hook for such a dumb move? It’s one thing to help a team out like the Philadelphia 76ers who gave J.J. Redick a one-year deal, but it’s another to bail out the Grizzlies who did something foolish. Conley can help a few teams, however, for the next season and a half, the only team he will be helping will be the one who paid him like the superstar he isn’t.
Mark has been covering Sports and Entertainment for the past six years. His work has been featured on Bleacher Report, ESPN, Fox Sports, Teen Vogue, and many other websites.
