With free agency set to start in roughly two weeks, the Memphis Grizzlies‘ front office is “growing a bit concerned” that unrestricted free agent Mike Conley won’t be coming back to Tennessee, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.com.
Conley is this summer’s best free-agent point guard, and Begley pointed out how the New York Knicks might jump in on the sweepstakes, saying that it’s “a bit of potentially good news for those [New York] Knicks fans interested in.”
New York’s point guard rotation in 2015-16 featured pass-first point Jose Calderon, rookie Jerian Grant, and sophomore Langston Galloway. Not exactly an intimidating lineup. No disrespect but the NBA is in a golden age of point guards, and they are at the bottom regarding talent. Conley coming to the Big Apple would fill a majority of the Knicks’ holes (defense, playoff experience), and provide them with a third option alongside Kristaps Porzingis and Carmelo Anthony.
If it comes down to money, Memphis would more than likely retain their floor general. The Grizzlies are lucky because they aren’t a bottom-feeder in the West, and would’ve made some noise in the playoffs had Conley and Marc Gasol not gone down with season-ending injuries. Begley stated that Memphis can give Conley “a five-year deal worth approximately $124 million,” and other teams would be unable to match that as they would cap at four years and roughly $92 million.
The money is there, the playoff contention is there, Hollywood mega-star, and minority owner, Justin Timberlake is also there and will be doing all he can to help persuade Conley to stay in Memphis.
However, if a team were able to pry Conley away from Justin Timberlake and the Grizzlies, their team would have a legitimate all-star level point guard in their backcourt. After being selected fourth overall out of Ohio State in the 2007 Draft, Mike Conley emerged as a very solid two-way player. Over his last three seasons, he’s at 16.2 points, 5.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and is shooting 37% from three. He landed on the All-Defensive second team back in 2012-13 after leading the league with 174 steals; from 2009-2014, his 673 steals placed him third amongst his peers, ahead of guys like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James, and Russell Westbrook, according to Basketball-Reference.
