Mike Conley

[Mr B]

Per Stein:

One well-placed source insists SA free agent interest in Conley is overstated.


Looks like Mavs vs Grizz on this.

I recall last summer it was 'Mavs vs Clippers'

And we all know how that ended up...

Granted Conley has a mind of his own unlike DJ, that 5th year will be an issue for us..lets hope Carlisle plays a big role in this.

True but the city and talent were much better in LA. The Grizz don't have anything outside of Gasol.

And if they lose Conley then Gasol would immediately go on the block.

[Mr B]

Do we really want to pay a guy 26m for 15 and 6? Thats just a waste of cap, now again if we pair an impact center and dump barea then im for it, beyond that, you dont build a team around conley period, hes at best the 10th best pg in basketball

Feel free to post something on the General board to see who's the more desirable FA Howard or Conley, I guarantee you the votes for Howard would be maybe you and 3 (at most) other people. He's done and is toxic, which screams stay away from me. And clearly you don't know Conley if you think he's the same as D-Will, Williams in incapable of having 2 straight good games.

Conley more desirable for sure, but let me ask this: If they sign Conley, is he the PG the next time this team is a legit contender? If so, what does that path look like? How are they acquiring the next superstar during the few years Conley is still decent?

Not sure how others feel, but young guys with upside are the only thing that's going to make me tune back in. Signing 30ish FAs only leads to the battle for sustained mediocrity and prevents the likelihood of finding the next stud to carry the franchise.

Best hope IMO is they go after these guys and lose out, meanwhile Parsons signs elsewhere leaving the Mavs with nothing and Dirk goes and chases a ring in Golden State. Mavs should sign every promising summer league guy to try to find one useable young gem. Play Justin Anderson and AJ Hammons big minutes. Let Wes take high volume shots to up his stats/confidence. End up with a nice high pick next year.

Keep in mind that it's not just Conley. I believe they are wanting Conley and Whiteside both. It's either both or nothing. If they have both they have a core that's young enough to compete for at least the next 4-5 years. They would still need a stud though. That person would likely have to come in a trade and more than likely will not come until the trade deadline at the earliest, more than likely not until next off season though.

[Darren]

Do we really want to pay a guy 26m for 15 and 6? Thats just a waste of cap, now again if we pair an impact center and dump barea then im for it, beyond that, you dont build a team around conley period, hes at best the 10th best pg in basketball

Feel free to post something on the General board to see who's the more desirable FA Howard or Conley, I guarantee you the votes for Howard would be maybe you and 3 (at most) other people. He's done and is toxic, which screams stay away from me. And clearly you don't know Conley if you think he's the same as D-Will, Williams in incapable of having 2 straight good games.

Conley more desirable for sure, but let me ask this: If they sign Conley, is he the PG the next time this team is a legit contender? If so, what does that path look like? How are they acquiring the next superstar during the few years Conley is still decent?

Not sure how others feel, but young guys with upside are the only thing that's going to make me tune back in. Signing 30ish FAs only leads to the battle for sustained mediocrity and prevents the likelihood of finding the next stud to carry the franchise.

Best hope IMO is they go after these guys and lose out, meanwhile Parsons signs elsewhere leaving the Mavs with nothing and Dirk goes and chases a ring in Golden State. Mavs should sign every promising summer league guy to try to find one useable young gem. Play Justin Anderson and AJ Hammons big minutes. Let Wes take high volume shots to up his stats/confidence. End up with a nice high pick next year.

Let me correct you. Mike Conley is just 28 year's old. And Hassan Whiteside is 27. Wes Matthews is 30. So they are at the greatest timing in their career to strive to win a champion. I can't agree with you. Who're the young PG remotedly interested you? DJ Augustin? Bare in mind that it takes much more time for PG and C develop. We're extremely lucky to have a chance to both in or near their prime. Pairing them with Dirk and RC, we have a legitimate chance to win a champion or two.

[k-lynch201]

Good points on Conley's potential to leave..but he does seem like a loyal guy.

Certainly more optimism than recent years for big D.

[Darren]

New York Knicks offers Joakim Noah 18M per. I think Conley's got the right paid. Whiteside is seriously underpaid. This is the new cap. We have to get accustomed to the new market price.

[Dirk]

Sources: Free-agent guard Mike Conley, Mavs to meet on Friday | ESPN

Conley wants a five-year max deal from Memphis, and if the Grizzlies refuse to go beyond four years, Conley could leave, the source said. Under league rules, Memphis is the only team that can offer Conley a five-year contract.

Coveted free agent Mike Conley has played his entire 9-year career with the Grizzlies, averaging 13.6 points and 5.6 assists.

"Mike wants the fifth year in Memphis because he's earned it,'' the source said. "If he's one of your top two players, why wouldn't you give it to him? What team messes around with one of its top two players?"

Houston, New Orleans, Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Lakers have also expressed interest in Conley, according to league sources, though no other meetings are currently scheduled.

Conley is likely to meet with Memphis after meeting with the other interested teams, the source said.

[Mr B]

Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine)
6/30/16, 7:45 AM
Free Agent Rumble: Memphis not only believes it'll keep Mike Conley but might try to sign Chandler Parsons away from the Conley-chasing Mavs

[Dirk]

Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine)
6/30/16, 7:45 AM
Free Agent Rumble: Memphis not only believes it'll keep Mike Conley but might try to sign Chandler Parsons away from the Conley-chasing Mavs

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Getting back on topic: the Grizzlies can guarantee him over $30 million more than any other team, so yeah... they should feel very confident as long as they don't low-ball him.

The Mavs are favorites (according to bookmakers) to sign Whiteside, so if they sign one of two of their top targets, it's not as bad as usual.

As for Parsons, I would rather see him move away from the division and not deal with all the story lines if he signed with Memphis. I don't believe they will though, because Parsons will cost $20 million and they only have $25/28 million in cap space.

[Mr B]

Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine)
6/30/16, 7:45 AM
Free Agent Rumble: Memphis not only believes it'll keep Mike Conley but might try to sign Chandler Parsons away from the Conley-chasing Mavs

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Getting back on topic: the Grizzlies can guarantee him over $30 million more than any other team, so yeah... they should feel very confident as long as they don't low-ball him.

The Mavs are favorites (according to bookmakers) to sign Whiteside, so if they sign one of two of their top targets, it's not as bad as usual.

As for Parsons, I would rather see him move away from the division and not deal with all the story lines if he signed with Memphis. I don't believe they will though, because Parsons will cost $20 million and they only have $25/28 million in cap space.

So if they sign Whiteside and miss out on Conley do you think they bring back DWill on a 1 year deal? The FA crop of PG's is much deeper next year. Although not sure how likely any of them are to change teams.

[Dirk]

So if they sign Whiteside and miss out on Conley do you think they bring back DWill on a 1 year deal? The FA crop of PG's is much deeper next year. Although not sure how likely any of them are to change teams.

You get the feeling Williams wants to get another nice contract. Looking around, teams who may be interested in Williams:

Chicago
Dallas
Houston
Milwaukee
76ers
Kings
Pelicans

Can he milk a 3 year deal averaging 10 million a year? It's possible. So I really doubt he'll sign a one year deal, unless it's for a very high amount.

Unfortunately, the other options available are: Lin, Ish Smith, Dellavedova, Jennings, Lawson... so Williams is probably the best option available. Even taking into account that he is a lock to miss about 20/30 games through injury and not giving his all in every game.

[Devassa]

If they sign Whiteside then Conley will sign with us.. I think that move would make us a far more attractive destination than Memphis or any other team interested.

And lol at Memphis wanting Parsons.. Go ahead and take him

[Darren]

Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine)
6/30/16, 7:45 AM
Free Agent Rumble: Memphis not only believes it'll keep Mike Conley but might try to sign Chandler Parsons away from the Conley-chasing Mavs

It looks more like a strategy to buy time so as to drive Whiteside signing with another team. They don't have the cap rooms to do so. So they just want to change Whiteside's mind to force Conley to sign a lower offer with Memphis. They do not intend to sign Parsons at all. If they trade away the core piece to do so, I doubt Conley really want back except from money point of view.

[Dirk]

Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine)
6/30/16, 7:45 AM
Free Agent Rumble: Memphis not only believes it'll keep Mike Conley but might try to sign Chandler Parsons away from the Conley-chasing Mavs

It looks more like a strategy to buy time so as to drive Whiteside signing with another team. They don't have the cap rooms to do so. So they just want to change Whiteside's mind to force Conley to sign a lower offer with Memphis. They do not intend to sign Parsons at all. If they trade away the core piece to do so, I doubt Conley really want back except from money point of view.

Memphis has the space to sign Parsons to his max. If they do that, they would be left with $6-10 million in cap space... and of course, they would still be able to re-sign Conley and go over the cap via bird rights.

[fuller4379]

The Grizzlies can have both Conley and Parsons at max contracts. Conley's 2015 salary was $9.4 million; therefore he has a $11.8 million cap hold. They have about $54 million in contracts since they let Stephenson walk. That gives them about $28 million to play with.

[Mr B]

The Grizzlies can have both Conley and Parsons at max contracts. Conley's 2015 salary was $9.4 million; therefore he has a $11.8 million cap hold. They have about $54 million in contracts since they let Stephenson walk. That gives them about $28 million to play with.

Conley isn't going to sign for $11.8 though. It's going to take a 5 year max contract if Memphis wants to keep him.

[The Sparest]

So if they sign Whiteside and miss out on Conley do you think they bring back DWill on a 1 year deal? The FA crop of PG's is much deeper next year. Although not sure how likely any of them are to change teams.

You get the feeling Williams wants to get another nice contract. Looking around, teams who may be interested in Williams:

Chicago
Dallas
Houston
Milwaukee
76ers
Kings
Pelicans

Can he milk a 3 year deal averaging 10 million a year? It's possible. So I really doubt he'll sign a one year deal, unless it's for a very high amount.

Unfortunately, the other options available are: Lin, Ish Smith, Dellavedova, Jennings, Lawson... so Williams is probably the best option available. Even taking into account that he is a lock to miss about 20/30 games through injury and not giving his all in every game.

If we miss out on Conley, and Deron wants too much money, then my next move would be to call Chi about Calderon. He's far from perfect, but he has proven he can play here, and he only has 1 year left. Lin would be better, but he will cost more and want more years, and I would rather bide the time til a better crop of PG's are available next year.

[The Sparest]

The Grizzlies can have both Conley and Parsons at max contracts. Conley's 2015 salary was $9.4 million; therefore he has a $11.8 million cap hold. They have about $54 million in contracts since they let Stephenson walk. That gives them about $28 million to play with.

Conley isn't going to sign for $11.8 though. It's going to take a 5 year max contract if Memphis wants to keep him.

He doesn't have to sign for 11.8, they just have to maintain his cap hold til they have used their cap space. Once they have used their cap, they can go over it to resign Conley. So if they sign Parsons first, then they can Sign Conley too.

[Dirk]

The Grizzlies can have both Conley and Parsons at max contracts. Conley's 2015 salary was $9.4 million; therefore he has a $11.8 million cap hold. They have about $54 million in contracts since they let Stephenson walk. That gives them about $28 million to play with.

Conley isn't going to sign for $11.8 though. It's going to take a 5 year max contract if Memphis wants to keep him.

He doesn't have to sign for 11.8, they just have to maintain his cap hold til they have used their cap space. Once they have used their cap, they can go over it to resign Conley. So if they sign Parsons first, then they can Sign Conley too.

Yes. His cap hold is $14.382 million though.

[The Sparest]

Conley isn't going to sign for $11.8 though. It's going to take a 5 year max contract if Memphis wants to keep him.

He doesn't have to sign for 11.8, they just have to maintain his cap hold til they have used their cap space. Once they have used their cap, they can go over it to resign Conley. So if they sign Parsons first, then they can Sign Conley too.

Yes. His cap hold is $14.382 million though.

I thought that sounded off, but I was just trying to point out it wouldn't be hard for Mem to sign Conley and Parsons both. They have a few contracts that wouldn't be hard to move or even stretch. I would even help them, if they send us Wright in a SnT.

[Mr B]

Honestly they can have Parsons.