The Official Mike Conley Thread

[wolves_89]

So I was trying to look a little deeper into Mike Conley’s contract, and noticed a few things.

First, this year isn’t fully guaranteed. He makes $24.36, but only $14.32 is guaranteed. In the tragic event that Mike suffered a season-ending injury, he could be waived and we would have room under the lux threshold to sign a replacement.

Second, he has that $1.5 mil unlikely bonus that Spotrac summarizes as :

“LTBE: $0, ULTBE: $1,500,000 (>-60% playoff games + finals)”

This apparently must just be poorly written and means that Mike only gets his bonus if the team plays in the finals. I’ve heard this rumored before, but couldn’t find confirmation until I noticed he had the same bonus last year. He played in 100% of our playoff games, and he did not receive the bonus.

There was a deadline before the season where Conley's contract became fully guaranteed.

[shrink]

So I was trying to look a little deeper into Mike Conley’s contract, and noticed a few things.

First, this year isn’t fully guaranteed. He makes $24.36, but only $14.32 is guaranteed. In the tragic event that Mike suffered a season-ending injury, he could be waived and we would have room under the lux threshold to sign a replacement.

Second, he has that $1.5 mil unlikely bonus that Spotrac summarizes as :

“LTBE: $0, ULTBE: $1,500,000 (>-60% playoff games + finals)”

This apparently must just be poorly written and means that Mike only gets his bonus if the team plays in the finals. I’ve heard this rumored before, but couldn’t find confirmation until I noticed he had the same bonus last year. He played in 100% of our playoff games, and he did not receive the bonus.

There was a deadline before the season where Conley's contract became fully guaranteed.

Thanks! I went out looking, and it became fully guaranteed 48 hours after the draft.

[Colbinii]

So I was trying to look a little deeper into Mike Conley’s contract, and noticed a few things.

First, this year isn’t fully guaranteed. He makes $24.36, but only $14.32 is guaranteed. In the tragic event that Mike suffered a season-ending injury, he could be waived and we would have room under the lux threshold to sign a replacement.

Second, he has that $1.5 mil unlikely bonus that Spotrac summarizes as :

“LTBE: $0, ULTBE: $1,500,000 (>-60% playoff games + finals)”

This apparently must just be poorly written and means that Mike only gets his bonus if the team plays in the finals. I’ve heard this rumored before, but couldn’t find confirmation until I noticed he had the same bonus last year. He played in 100% of our playoff games, and he did not receive the bonus.

There was a deadline before the season where Conley's contract became fully guaranteed.

Thanks! I went out looking, and it became fully guaranteed 48 hours after the draft.

Shrink, you should start using Spotrac.

You are too good of a poster to not be using the best resources.

[shrink]

There was a deadline before the season where Conley's contract became fully guaranteed.

Thanks! I went out looking, and it became fully guaranteed 48 hours after the draft.

Shrink, you should start using Spotrac.

You are too good of a poster to not be using the best resources.

Thanks! I’ve been shifting more and more + it takes me time to adjust to the new formats.

This is actually the fifth or sixth place I’ve used over all my years!

Storyteller
MarkDeeks’
Pelton’s - Basketball Insiders, I think it was called
Something before this one - not hoopshype.
BBRef
Spotrac

Spotrac is about to launch a trade checker too, that will be 100% correct!

[Klomp]

Read on Twitter

[shrink]

Last night after the game, Chris Finch was asked about Mike Conley playing too many minutes.

To paraphrase, he said that he is always asking Mike how he’s feeling, and Mike gets tired of being asked. He also told Finch he plays better in the second game of back-to-backs. Finch looked it up and statistically it seems to be true, so he said he’s forced to believe him.

EDIT: It must suck to be a coach some time. Conley is pushing him for minutes, and how can you say no when he leads the team so beautifully to a record like this? But you just know that the first time Mike gets an injury, like every player does, a horde of fans are going to descend on Finch and say, “See!?! I knew Conley was going to get hurt, and it’s all Finch’s fault for playing him so much! I knew it!”

Conley is becoming one of my favorite Wolves of all time, and to me, losing Mike would create a huge hole in the team. However, it made me feel good to hear that Mike feels healthy and isn’t tired by the minutes - in fact, he has said that the bigger role in Minnesota has rejuvenated him. I watch him play so well, and I believe him too.

[Klomp]

It's interesting to me how worried people are about Mike potentially breaking down. It probably has to do with the current state of the PG depth, or maybe just nightmares from 20 years ago.

Conley is one of 9 players 35 or older currently averaging 25+ mpg

LeBron (39) 34.1 mpg
CP3 (38) 27.5
Horford (37) 26.7
Lowry (37) 29.4
Conley (36) 29.4
Steph (35) 33.9
KD (35) 36.7
EG (35) 31.8
Lopez (35) 30.9

Just missed the minutes cut: Russ, Batum

[winforlose]

It's interesting to me how worried people are about Mike potentially breaking down. It probably has to do with the current state of the PG depth, or maybe just nightmares from 20 years ago.

Conley is one of 9 players 35 or older currently averaging 25+ mpg

LeBron (39) 34.1 mpg
CP3 (38) 27.5
Horford (37) 26.7
Lowry (37) 29.4
Conley (36) 29.4
Steph (35) 33.9
KD (35) 36.7
EG (35) 31.8
Lopez (35) 30.9

Just missed the minutes cut: Russ, Batum

All of the above. When Sam went down the scenery fell down and the whole play got canceled. It wouldn’t have been that bad if the play reopened the next year. But of course it took 20 years to find the right cast and the play still hasn’t even happened yet. We are in the early preview stages. Worse, we are stacked with depth, but one of our most important actor’s doesn’t have a proper understudy. I know the show must go on, but we aren’t exactly the only game in town.

To stop torturing the metaphor, we can win as many regular season games as we like, but that means nothing without winning the WCF and getting some god damn glory. To do that we need a backup PG who can step in if Mike goes down. We have NAW backing up the Wings, Naz the bigs, but we have no one backing the PG and that simply isn’t going to work.

[m2002brian]

Mike Miller gives me ptsd of former acquisitions who could who suddenly couldn’t in a wolves uniform.

But… Bite Bite is changing all of that. AE5 is my favorite player, but if I were to get a jersey, to wear and show to the world, it would be #10. Just pure class and an approach to the game that transcends the borders of team. He is and will continue to be the hope of this team.

[winforlose]

Mike Miller gives me ptsd of former acquisitions who could who suddenly couldn’t in a wolves uniform.

But… Bite Bite is changing all of that. AE5 is my favorite player, but if I were to get a jersey, to wear and show to the world, it would be #10. Just pure class and an approach to the game that transcends the borders of team. He is and will continue to be the hope of this team.

Ant had the right nickname for Mike but for the wrong reason. He says it’s because Mike always looks ready to bite someone. I say it’s because Mike does so many little things to take a bite out of you. Tonight a poke away is bite one, then he gets the cross court pass and hits the layup in transition for bite number 2.

Also, if we win the title, Mike should bite Ant. Just bring the thing full circle.

[younggunsmn]

It's interesting to me how worried people are about Mike potentially breaking down. It probably has to do with the current state of the PG depth, or maybe just nightmares from 20 years ago.

Conley is one of 9 players 35 or older currently averaging 25+ mpg

LeBron (39) 34.1 mpg
CP3 (38) 27.5
Horford (37) 26.7
Lowry (37) 29.4
Conley (36) 29.4
Steph (35) 33.9
KD (35) 36.7
EG (35) 31.8
Lopez (35) 30.9

Just missed the minutes cut: Russ, Batum

So Mike is a year younger than Lowry and a year older than Steph and KD.
That makes me feel a little better about him playing 2-3 more years after this year.

[winforlose]

It's interesting to me how worried people are about Mike potentially breaking down. It probably has to do with the current state of the PG depth, or maybe just nightmares from 20 years ago.

Conley is one of 9 players 35 or older currently averaging 25+ mpg

LeBron (39) 34.1 mpg
CP3 (38) 27.5
Horford (37) 26.7
Lowry (37) 29.4
Conley (36) 29.4
Steph (35) 33.9
KD (35) 36.7
EG (35) 31.8
Lopez (35) 30.9

Just missed the minutes cut: Russ, Batum

So Mike is a year younger than Lowry and a year older than Steph and KD.
That makes me feel a little better about him playing 2-3 more years after this year.

Remind me how much time has Curry missed, KD missed, Lowry missed? You cannot count on a 36 or 37 or 38 year old for 82 games. You cannot even count on them for 72 games. If you get 72, great, but don’t bet on it. Regardless, no one is saying dump Mike. We are saying we need someone behind him who can help shoulder the burden and eventually help transition him to the bench next year when he is older and needs fewer minutes to stay healthy.

[FrenchMinnyFan]

The option was i think that Shake will be good enough to take out 5-7 min from Mike and limit him to 23/25 min per game but unfortunatly it did not work out. The most important will be if we can secure our position as early as possible to rest Mike, ANT, KAT and Rudy a litle bit to make sure they are 100% at PO time.
But injury apart i'm not too worry for Mike. I follow him since he got drafted and he is one of he most professional and serious player you can find. I'm sure he got 2 or 3 more years in the tank.

[shrink]

i was traveling for Christmas and missed the game, and the radio was out in my car, but still had a cool experience, I wanted to share.

I pulled off at about midnight just after the game ended, and on the TV I saw a smiling Mike Conley doing an on court, post game interview. It made me happy to know that the Wolves beat the formidable Kings, but even happier to know that Mike must have been particularly good to be selected to be interviewed. He is quickly becoming one of my favorite Wolves of all time, and I love to know that he’s happy and did well!

[Klomp]

I don't know what this all means, but it seems good.

Read on Twitter

[winforlose]

I don't know what this all means, but it seems good.

Read on Twitter

4 of our top 5 in the top 50 is probably good. No one in the top 24 not as good.

[Loaf_of_bread]

I don't know what this all means, but it seems good.

Read on Twitter

4 of our top 5 in the top 50 is probably good. No one in the top 24 not as good.

Thanks for the breakdown.

[shrink]

So many of these stats are based on usage, that I’m not surprised that we don’t have anyone in the Top 24, IF we have four guys between 25-50. We have deep starting talent.

[KGdaBom]

It's interesting to me how worried people are about Mike potentially breaking down. It probably has to do with the current state of the PG depth, or maybe just nightmares from 20 years ago.

Conley is one of 9 players 35 or older currently averaging 25+ mpg

LeBron (39) 34.1 mpg
CP3 (38) 27.5
Horford (37) 26.7
Lowry (37) 29.4
Conley (36) 29.4
Steph (35) 33.9
KD (35) 36.7
EG (35) 31.8
Lopez (35) 30.9

Just missed the minutes cut: Russ, Batum

All of the above. When Sam went down the scenery fell down and the whole play got canceled. It wouldn’t have been that bad if the play reopened the next year. But of course it took 20 years to find the right cast and the play still hasn’t even happened yet. We are in the early preview stages. Worse, we are stacked with depth, but one of our most important actor’s doesn’t have a proper understudy. I know the show must go on, but we aren’t exactly the only game in town.

To stop torturing the metaphor, we can win as many regular season games as we like, but that means nothing without winning the WCF and getting some god damn glory. To do that we need a backup PG who can step in if Mike goes down. We have NAW backing up the Wings, Naz the bigs, but we have no one backing the PG and that simply isn’t going to work.

How about Mike not going down. Problem solved. It's not a guarantee that Mike goes down. It would be nice to have a high quality backup PG, but it's not an absolute necessity.

[winforlose]

It's interesting to me how worried people are about Mike potentially breaking down. It probably has to do with the current state of the PG depth, or maybe just nightmares from 20 years ago.

Conley is one of 9 players 35 or older currently averaging 25+ mpg

LeBron (39) 34.1 mpg
CP3 (38) 27.5
Horford (37) 26.7
Lowry (37) 29.4
Conley (36) 29.4
Steph (35) 33.9
KD (35) 36.7
EG (35) 31.8
Lopez (35) 30.9

Just missed the minutes cut: Russ, Batum

All of the above. When Sam went down the scenery fell down and the whole play got canceled. It wouldn’t have been that bad if the play reopened the next year. But of course it took 20 years to find the right cast and the play still hasn’t even happened yet. We are in the early preview stages. Worse, we are stacked with depth, but one of our most important actor’s doesn’t have a proper understudy. I know the show must go on, but we aren’t exactly the only game in town.

To stop torturing the metaphor, we can win as many regular season games as we like, but that means nothing without winning the WCF and getting some god damn glory. To do that we need a backup PG who can step in if Mike goes down. We have NAW backing up the Wings, Naz the bigs, but we have no one backing the PG and that simply isn’t going to work.

How about Mike not going down. Problem solved. It's not a guarantee that Mike goes down. It would be nice to have a high quality backup PG, but it's not an absolute necessity.

Hope for the best. Plan for the worst. Also next season we are basically stuck in cement with the cap. If you want to plan for the future you must do it now.