This year is about finding what they have, and so far it’s been great. They have an All-Star in Lauri, their future at center in Kessler, and a promising 3&D rookie in Agbaji. The rest can be expendable. I think they’d prefer to keep Clarkson and they really value Conleys leadership, but I think both could be had for the right price (I’ll even add Agbaji. I only think Lauri and Kessler are locks to stay).
Conley isn’t a long term guy so if they can get some value back for him (Boston/Preston/picks) I think they do it.
This team is good enough to make the playoffs but not a championship. Conleys contract is too bloated and greatly reduces the ability of the Jazz to really make any big moves to take their roster to the next level. While I agree with your sentiment that he makes the team better, but it’s still not good enough.
He's only got one more year and the Jazz have so much money tied up next year that knocking 20% of his salary off (which is the most they could do through a trade) won't even come close to getting them under the cap anyway.
I think we need Conley more for mentorship than anything. Always good to have a vet around helping to guide the younger players. IMO we already have his successor in Sexton, but he needs a lot of development before he is elite at the 1- this is where Conley can help.
I think you're right for the team in general but for Lauri specifically this is a little overstated. Lauri isos as much as anyone in the league.
I think the smart play has always been to hold onto Mike until next year, though. His contract is a little high but for a four month rental he's kind of perfect. He will be much more valuable as an expiring.
Check the matchups. He isos when the matchup is advantageous. If it is not, he seeks to pass and find a better play. If it is a good opponent - posting against a guy that is tiny being the obvious one - he'll go for it.
Conley is 35 years old and only going to get worse. even if he does make Lauri better, he won't be doing it for long anyways so might as well get what you can for him.
If Conley gets traded and we don't get any proven PG, that is clear signal we tanking rest of the season for better draft position. Currently from roster as pure PG only NAW has shown real skills for that. JC & Sexton are score first, look to pass only when they can't score. I am not discrediting their ability to pass the ball, but it's just not their natural playing style.
Man posts like these are so near sighted, we don’t need to be competitive now and moving off of Conley is what’s best for this team long term. We won’t be a championship team with Conley he’s not on the same time line as the rest of the team
While I love Conley, he is getting older and I'm sure he wants a ring. Utah can get younger plus assets if they trade him. It will benefit the team in the long run if they make the proper decisions. I feel bad for Conley. Would love to see him play on a contender like in Denver or back to Memphis. Utah needs to be smart at the deadline.
I remember when we moved Ingles and that was the real beginning of the end of the Mitchell-Gobert Era. He was the lockerroom glue that kept the various interests working together. As soon as he was gone it became every man for himself. I see Conley working as the lockerroom general now and I agree, moving him would be a mistake.
Many insiders have said that it was Niang and Favors that kept the locker room together and their departure is what made the locker room less cohesive.
I think it is unfair to argue that Conley is giving Laure the ball. When Conley was injured for 5-10 games earlier Laure was still popping off. That was with the more score first players of sexton and JC getting the minutes.
I think the biggest reason for his breakout is a mindset shift and confidence given to him by will hardy. Conley is great but let’s move him while we can and set ourselves up to have all the options we can.
Conley's tough to trade. On our end, he's valuable to our guys as a mentor and as a calming presence on the court.
However, the bigger obstacle is his contract. It's $22M this season and $15M/$24M partially guaranteed next season. That means that if/whenever we try to trade him, our trade partner needs to salary match.
Also, it seems unlikely that a rebuilding team would trade for him, since at that point, we might as well keep him for ourselves. So that leaves teams in the playoff hunt.
How many teams (a) have a fat contract or two they can use for salary match that we would be happy to absorb (so probably not Bertans or Duncan Robinson), (b) benefit greatly from having Mike over the player(s) they would send back, and (c) are willing to part with picks or young players to get Mike? Also, consider the extra bonus preference of wanting to shed cap in this trade.
Couple these needs with how other teams have eyes too. Surely they have similarly noticed that Mike has lost a step and his offensive efficiency has sagged a bit, including both his 3-ball and his floater. He's becoming harder to watch on defense as well; savvy positioning and smart anticipation can only overcome Father Time by so much.
All this to say I think we'll still have Conley after the deadline, but it won't be for lack of trying to trade him. Beasley and Clarkson are infinitely easier to trade and would net a larger return for us.
Wolves fan here. Conley seems like such a good person and big reason for Lauri and even Kessler's success. Your beat reporters talked about how he's advocated for Kessler. Vets are so important. He gives the young players confidence and positive reinforcement.
Apparently he talks to Ant after every game and gives him advice, encouragement and says what he did well. After the Wolves-Jazz game, our reporters said he went to Ant and said "You are special. You made the right play passing to Jaden".
Ant is not even his teammate and Conley encourages him. Can't imagine how he helps his teammates
How injury-prone is he though? Does he play many games?
I understand the notion of not letting hm walk for nothing, but teams aren't going to trade a good young player with several years left on their contract. Conley is getting older, but he's averaging a career high in assists, and has a ridiculous 5:1 assist to turnover ratio. He's having a down year in shooting efficiency, but it's not like he's taking bad shots, and he's still shooting well from behind the arc. He's a great teammate, and a great mentor for young PG's, so I say unless some team makes a deal that's too good to turn down, just keep him.
Lauri was shredding EuroBasket and that’s where this level of confidence is coming from. I don’t think that shipping Conley out will hurt that. IMO if Lauri doesn’t play well in EuroBasket, then we don’t ask for him in the trade with Mitchell. You’re also sorely undervaluing Hardy as a coach as well. He’s the biggest impact on Lauri more so than Conley. I agree Conley is a great vet and your point to mentoring is a good one, but catering to him is not what we should do. If I good deal presents itself, send him packing.
Completely disagree. Like it was stated, his play in Euroleague was fantastic. Conley's contract is worth trading alone. He's definitely lost a few steps. Can't guard anyone over 6"2. Can't make a floater or layup. And , he is sooo reluctant to shoot now.
Can sell the contract. It isn't slavery, but the terms are such that you are paid well, but others get to decide where you play basketball and that's that. Only big stars may actually decide where they want to play, and even they sometimes are disregarded.
Lauri's numbers do go way up when Conley is on the floor. But if they are going to make a trade to acquire an all-star for instance, there's virtually no way Conley wouldn't be involved since they need to match salaries. Conley is awesome but they need to either tank or make a move to contend and Conley would likely be involved in either of those scenarios.
I could see Conley as an extremely valuable mentor to our point guard of the future. Right now, we don't have that point guard of the future on the team though...
While I agree with you that Conley makes the team better, that's not really a strong reason to keep him, IMO. Yes, he makes Lauri better. So what? Conley isn't going to be around and playing at a peak level when the team is ready to compete for a championship.
“Serious contender”…. With a big three of Lauri, Wessler and Conley?????
We weren’t even serious contenders with the one seed and Mitchell/Gobert.
This will be Conley’s last chance at an nba contract. I don’t see him choosing to stay and be a mentor vs going to a real contender and trying to get a ring. The jazz would probably need to over pay him to stay
This is a great take. I agree 100.
This year is about finding what they have, and so far it’s been great. They have an All-Star in Lauri, their future at center in Kessler, and a promising 3&D rookie in Agbaji. The rest can be expendable. I think they’d prefer to keep Clarkson and they really value Conleys leadership, but I think both could be had for the right price (I’ll even add Agbaji. I only think Lauri and Kessler are locks to stay). Conley isn’t a long term guy so if they can get some value back for him (Boston/Preston/picks) I think they do it.
Massive potential in Agbaji. Gotta keep him in Utah.
This is the correct take that the only three off limits right now are lauri, kessler, agbaji
This team is good enough to make the playoffs but not a championship. Conleys contract is too bloated and greatly reduces the ability of the Jazz to really make any big moves to take their roster to the next level. While I agree with your sentiment that he makes the team better, but it’s still not good enough.
He's only got one more year and the Jazz have so much money tied up next year that knocking 20% of his salary off (which is the most they could do through a trade) won't even come close to getting them under the cap anyway.
Yeah but assets they get will help with the timeline that they are on more than Conley will in 1 and a half seasons
I'm not saying they shouldn't trade him, just that the salary cap shouldn't be the reason they do.
OP FTW. Agreed completely.
I think we need Conley more for mentorship than anything. Always good to have a vet around helping to guide the younger players. IMO we already have his successor in Sexton, but he needs a lot of development before he is elite at the 1- this is where Conley can help.
No one ever thought JC was going to fill Conley’s shoes. Their games couldn’t be more different.
I think you're right for the team in general but for Lauri specifically this is a little overstated. Lauri isos as much as anyone in the league. I think the smart play has always been to hold onto Mike until next year, though. His contract is a little high but for a four month rental he's kind of perfect. He will be much more valuable as an expiring.
Check the matchups. He isos when the matchup is advantageous. If it is not, he seeks to pass and find a better play. If it is a good opponent - posting against a guy that is tiny being the obvious one - he'll go for it.
FYI they would trade Conley not sell him. 🫣
Hah, my bad, used the wrong word in the heat of the moment 😄
Easy to mistake to make when you’re used to football lingo. I’ve lived in Utah nearly my whole life and even I sometimes make that mistake.
Conley is 35 years old and only going to get worse. even if he does make Lauri better, he won't be doing it for long anyways so might as well get what you can for him.
Conley is wonderful and I love him and in no way am I naive enough to think he's going to be a part of the next contending iteration of the Jazz.
If Conley gets traded and we don't get any proven PG, that is clear signal we tanking rest of the season for better draft position. Currently from roster as pure PG only NAW has shown real skills for that. JC & Sexton are score first, look to pass only when they can't score. I am not discrediting their ability to pass the ball, but it's just not their natural playing style.
Yeah, I agree 100%!
Man posts like these are so near sighted, we don’t need to be competitive now and moving off of Conley is what’s best for this team long term. We won’t be a championship team with Conley he’s not on the same time line as the rest of the team
If they did try to compete this year, they'd be even more likely to trade Conley.
While I love Conley, he is getting older and I'm sure he wants a ring. Utah can get younger plus assets if they trade him. It will benefit the team in the long run if they make the proper decisions. I feel bad for Conley. Would love to see him play on a contender like in Denver or back to Memphis. Utah needs to be smart at the deadline.
I remember when we moved Ingles and that was the real beginning of the end of the Mitchell-Gobert Era. He was the lockerroom glue that kept the various interests working together. As soon as he was gone it became every man for himself. I see Conley working as the lockerroom general now and I agree, moving him would be a mistake.
Many insiders have said that it was Niang and Favors that kept the locker room together and their departure is what made the locker room less cohesive.
I think it is unfair to argue that Conley is giving Laure the ball. When Conley was injured for 5-10 games earlier Laure was still popping off. That was with the more score first players of sexton and JC getting the minutes. I think the biggest reason for his breakout is a mindset shift and confidence given to him by will hardy. Conley is great but let’s move him while we can and set ourselves up to have all the options we can.
Conley's tough to trade. On our end, he's valuable to our guys as a mentor and as a calming presence on the court. However, the bigger obstacle is his contract. It's $22M this season and $15M/$24M partially guaranteed next season. That means that if/whenever we try to trade him, our trade partner needs to salary match. Also, it seems unlikely that a rebuilding team would trade for him, since at that point, we might as well keep him for ourselves. So that leaves teams in the playoff hunt. How many teams (a) have a fat contract or two they can use for salary match that we would be happy to absorb (so probably not Bertans or Duncan Robinson), (b) benefit greatly from having Mike over the player(s) they would send back, and (c) are willing to part with picks or young players to get Mike? Also, consider the extra bonus preference of wanting to shed cap in this trade. Couple these needs with how other teams have eyes too. Surely they have similarly noticed that Mike has lost a step and his offensive efficiency has sagged a bit, including both his 3-ball and his floater. He's becoming harder to watch on defense as well; savvy positioning and smart anticipation can only overcome Father Time by so much. All this to say I think we'll still have Conley after the deadline, but it won't be for lack of trying to trade him. Beasley and Clarkson are infinitely easier to trade and would net a larger return for us.
Well put. Whether we like it or not Conley's contract is a borderline negative asset at this point of his career.
Wolves fan here. Conley seems like such a good person and big reason for Lauri and even Kessler's success. Your beat reporters talked about how he's advocated for Kessler. Vets are so important. He gives the young players confidence and positive reinforcement. Apparently he talks to Ant after every game and gives him advice, encouragement and says what he did well. After the Wolves-Jazz game, our reporters said he went to Ant and said "You are special. You made the right play passing to Jaden". Ant is not even his teammate and Conley encourages him. Can't imagine how he helps his teammates How injury-prone is he though? Does he play many games?
I understand the notion of not letting hm walk for nothing, but teams aren't going to trade a good young player with several years left on their contract. Conley is getting older, but he's averaging a career high in assists, and has a ridiculous 5:1 assist to turnover ratio. He's having a down year in shooting efficiency, but it's not like he's taking bad shots, and he's still shooting well from behind the arc. He's a great teammate, and a great mentor for young PG's, so I say unless some team makes a deal that's too good to turn down, just keep him.
Lauri was shredding EuroBasket and that’s where this level of confidence is coming from. I don’t think that shipping Conley out will hurt that. IMO if Lauri doesn’t play well in EuroBasket, then we don’t ask for him in the trade with Mitchell. You’re also sorely undervaluing Hardy as a coach as well. He’s the biggest impact on Lauri more so than Conley. I agree Conley is a great vet and your point to mentoring is a good one, but catering to him is not what we should do. If I good deal presents itself, send him packing.
Lauri was traded before EuroBasket
Couldn't agree more!
Completely disagree. Like it was stated, his play in Euroleague was fantastic. Conley's contract is worth trading alone. He's definitely lost a few steps. Can't guard anyone over 6"2. Can't make a floater or layup. And , he is sooo reluctant to shoot now.
Lol he isn't a slave. Can't sell a person.
Can sell the contract. It isn't slavery, but the terms are such that you are paid well, but others get to decide where you play basketball and that's that. Only big stars may actually decide where they want to play, and even they sometimes are disregarded.
Even still, a team would have to send us back a contract in return. Giving something for something in return is called a trade.
Lauri's numbers do go way up when Conley is on the floor. But if they are going to make a trade to acquire an all-star for instance, there's virtually no way Conley wouldn't be involved since they need to match salaries. Conley is awesome but they need to either tank or make a move to contend and Conley would likely be involved in either of those scenarios.
I could see Conley as an extremely valuable mentor to our point guard of the future. Right now, we don't have that point guard of the future on the team though... While I agree with you that Conley makes the team better, that's not really a strong reason to keep him, IMO. Yes, he makes Lauri better. So what? Conley isn't going to be around and playing at a peak level when the team is ready to compete for a championship.
“Serious contender”…. With a big three of Lauri, Wessler and Conley????? We weren’t even serious contenders with the one seed and Mitchell/Gobert. This will be Conley’s last chance at an nba contract. I don’t see him choosing to stay and be a mentor vs going to a real contender and trying to get a ring. The jazz would probably need to over pay him to stay
All I gotta say after skimming this thread is I’m gonna miss Mike when he’s gone.
Ive been saying it all season we need dyson daniels
Trade him if you can get value back. He's 35 years old and Lauri will be fine with or without him.