The NBA offseason continues to turn up the heat. After much speculation regarding his future, Mike Conley has a new home. The Memphis Grizzlies traded Conley to the Utah Jazz. In exchange for the 31-year-old, Memphis received Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, Grayson Allen, Utah’s 2019 first-round pick (#23), and a protected 2020 first-round pick. The protected pick can be a late-lottery pick in 2020 or 2021 if it falls between number eighth and 14th overall. If not, it’ll be lightly-protected in one of the drafts falling between 2022-24.
Much like the Lakers-Pelicans trade centered around Anthony Davis, both teams benefitted mightily from their acquisitions. Memphis and Utah have traded for players that’ll benefit their respective goals going into next season. The impacts of this trade, on both teams, is huge.
Utah is Preparing to Contend
The rise of the Utah Jazz began in 2016 when their team was led by now Celtics’ F Gordon Hayward. After he left for free agency that summer, they were on the search for a new face of the franchise. Of course, they had Rudy Gobert at their disposal. But, Utah needed that second star, and that they acquired.
During the 2017 NBA Draft, Utah traded for Donovan Mitchell, originally drafted by the Denver Nuggets. That began the revitalization of a Jazz team who’d become a huge threat in the NBA. In Mitchell’s first season, Utah finished 48-25 (fifth in the West) with their season ending in the West Semifinals. This season, the Jazz did slightly better with a 50-32 record. However, their exit was in the first round.
Now, it’s the offseason. Utah has been a team, at least for the past few seasons, that’s one step away from contending. With the acquisition of Mike Conley, the Jazz finally have the piece they need.
Who is Mike Conley?
Conley is no scrub nor your average role player. At 31, some people question if Conley was worth trading two first-round picks to acquire. However, it was absolutely worth it. This past season for Memphis, Conley averaged a career-high 21.1 points and 6.4 assists. As the leading scorer on the Grizzlies, the Jazz acquired a dynamic player who strives in all situations.
The veteran Conley also has played under the bright lights of the postseason. His 56 postseason games are now the second most on the team behind Thabo Sefolosha. Back when Conley was paired up with now Raptors’ C Marc Gasol, the Grizzlies made the playoffs in seven straight seasons. That included a Western Conference Finals appearance in 2013.
Not only is Conley an excellent second/third option for the Jazz, but he also provides leadership as a veteran. Donovan Mitchell averaged 23.8 points and 4.2 assists as the Jazz’s leading man this past season. However, some of the burdens need to be lifted off of his back. That’s exactly what Conley provides. Head Coach Quin Snyder is a terrific coach looking to bring the best out of Mitchell. With Conley on the roster, it allows Snyder to somewhat better his growth of Mitchell.
This can result in fewer shots but better quality plays for Mitchell. When you look at the current Jazz’ roster, there’s no doubt that they’re talented. The list includes Rudy Gobert, Ricky Rubio, Derrick Favors, and Joe Ingles. But, with both Favors and Rubio preparing to be free agents, that makes the acquisition of Conley all the more important. To add to that, Conley is realistically an upgrade from Rubio in every category.
Conley vs. Rubio 2018-19 NBA Season Statistics
| Ricky Rubio | Mike Conley | |
| Points | 12.7 | 21.1 |
| Rebounds | 3.6 | 3.4 |
| Assists | 6.1 | 6.4 |
| Block | 0.2 | 0.3 |
| Steals | 1.3 | 1.3 |
| FG% | 40.4 | 43.8 |
| 3PT% | 31.1 | 36.4 |
| FT% | 85.5 | 84.5 |
| TO | 2.6 | 1.9 |
Who’d you rather have on your team? Mike Conley is an upgrade from the services of Ricky Rubio. Although Rubio has the option to re-sign with Utah this summer, he shouldn’t. As good as Rubio was for the Jazz these past few seasons, Conley is better. Seeing the stats above, Conley won’t just score, but he’ll lift some of the playmaking responsibilities off of players like Donavan Mitchell as well. The Jazz are acquiring a PG who’s both gifted and proficient offensively.
When you bring up Utah, no one ever fails to mention their defensive prowess. In each of the last three seasons, the Jazz have had a top-three defensive rating in the NBA. The only defensive notability on Conley’s resume is the 2012-13 All-Defensive Team, which was during the “Grit-and-Grind” era in Memphis. Now, with Conley, the Jazz can build upon their high defensive status. He’s gotten better each year in most aspects of his game.
Memphis Acquires Building Blocks
Just like that previously-mentioned Lakers-Pelicans trade, one team is preparing to contend while the other is preparing to build for their future. The Grizzlies are the team setting up the future of their franchise, and right now, they’re on the right path. First off, Memphis received Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, and Grayson Allen.
Grayson Allen
For those who aren’t familiar with Grayson Allen, he’s a 23-year-old who can certainly bloom into a solid role player for Memphis. Although he averaged only 5.6 points this past season, evidence of his potential came against a healthy Clippers’ team late in the season. Derrick Favors, Rudy Gobert, Kyler Korver, Donovan Mitchell, Ricky Rubio, and Raul Neto were all out due to injury. Because of that, Allen took matters into his own hands.
In 41 minutes of play, Allen dropped 40 points on a healthy Clippers’ squad. He went 11-30 from the field, 5-13 from behind the arc, and 13-14 at the free throw line. The Jazz lost this game 143-137, but that’s beside the point. Allen showed that he can be a good player in this league. Considering a team such as Utah is stacked with talent, 10.9 minutes a game is not all that good for the early stages in Allen’s career. But, in Memphis, they’re building up a young core centered around the second overall pick in the draft, Ja Morant. Memphis adds yet another first-round pick, as Grayson Allen was drafted #21 overall in the 2018 NBA Draft.
Jae Crowder
Jae Crowder is a role player who should give some meaningful minutes to Memphis. In 80 appearances for Utah during the regular season, Crowder averaged 11.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists. While there’s nothing that stands out about Crowder, he can give the Grizzlies a solid 12-15 PPG depending on playing time.
Kyle Korver
Kyle Korver might just be the most valuable part of the trade for Memphis. Korver has played a whopping 19 seasons in the NBA. Throughout his career, he’s been known as a resident sharpshooter for just about every team he’s played on. But, it’s his actions off the court that’ll make the biggest difference.
After this trade, Memphis will be building towards a brighter future, not necessarily contending status. Because of all of the new pieces and young talent coming in, you need a polished veteran to show them what they’re getting into. Korver is the perfect guy for that. Not only is he a veteran in this league, but he’s also gone through the biggest moments.
The 38-year-old was a part of the 2014-15 Atlanta Hawks team who finished with a 60-22 record, first in the East. Korver played a critical role for that team and knows what it takes to be competitive at the highest levels. This is more of the reason why the trade for Korver was essential. Rookies don’t know much going into the league besides how to play the game of basketball. Having Korver in their corner to let them know what they’re doing right or wrong will only make them better as a team going forward.
How Memphis Brings it All Together
Along with those three players, Memphis also received Utah’s 2019 first-round pick (#23). This pick was traded along with 2024 second-round pick to the Thunder for Gonzaga F Brandon Clarke (#21 overall). Clarke isn’t a flashy player, but for the Grizzlies, he can be a force in the paint. This can be especially true if C Jonas Valanciunas leaves the team after not picking up his option for the 2019-20 season.
As it stands, the Grizzlies roster consists of:
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C |
| Ja Morant | Grayson Allen | Jae Crowder | Jaren Jackson Jr. | Jonas Valanciunas |
| Delon Wright | Kyle Korver | Kyle Anderson | Chandler Parsons | Tyler Zeller |
| Jevon Carter | Justin Holiday | Dillon Brooks | Yuta Watanbe | Joakim Noah |
| – | Avery Bradley | CJ Miles | – | Ivan Rabb |
| – | – | Julian Washburn | – | – |
That isn’t a bad lineup for Memphis. It’s a start toward something bigger. Morant is expected to be a star, so expect a heavy emphasis and focus on him on offense. Overall, they did an excellent job with this trade. However, don’t expect the success to come to fruition until a few years from now.
Who Won the Trade?
Both teams equally won this trade. Why? Look at the goals of both teams when pursuing it. Memphis wanted to move Conley to make space for the future of their franchise, Ja Morant. They didn’t just manage to do that, but they also received other picks and players as well. Utah needed to upgrade their team, and the PG position was where it was needed the most. Ricky Rubio was good, but Utah needed better. Memphis has started this build for a bright future backed behind a potential star. Utah has put themselves in the conversation as contenders for the 2019-20 NBA Championship.