Andy Larsen: A note: if Jazz acquire player with long term, big-money deal that has money in 2021-22 (say, Jrue Holiday), they could end up having to pay the luxury tax to retain that player + Mitchell + Gobert. But Miller ownership has given FO permission to enter tax in such a situation.
More on Mike Conley Trade
As the trade deadline approaches, the Utah Jazz have made an offer to the Memphis Grizzlies involving Ricky Rubio and a 2019 first round pick for point guard Mike Conley, The Salt Lake Tribune has learned.
The Grizzlies didn’t immediately accept the offer, though considered it in the context of other offers that they’ve been getting for Conley from other teams around the league.
Memphis says they’ve received offers including better first round picks than the Jazz’s — currently slated to be the No. 19 pick — from teams around the league. One team reportedly also interested in Conley is the Detroit Pistons, sources said. As a result, the Jazz may have to weigh whether or not to include additional picks or assets if they choose to acquire Conley before Thursday’s trade deadline.
Utah doesn't need another great player to be a great team, though of course they would happily take one. A small upgrade at the right position could have an outsize impact. That might come at point guard; Utah has engaged in talks with Memphis about Mike Conley already, and those talks may pick up steam as the weekend approaches, sources say.
It’s been a tumultuous week for Conley and Gasol. Grizzlies owner Robert Pera called them on Tuesday with news that the Grizzlies had decided to put them on the trade block. Afterward, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski made the trade news public on Twitter. Conley appreciates that he heard the news from Pera rather than Twitter, but it hasn’t made this week easier to navigate. He and Gasol have had to answer questions about a trade situation they didn’t ask for and has no clear timeframe or resolution. They’ve been tasked with eulogizing an era that has yet to come to a close. “During the game you’re not so much caught up into that, until you finish and you look up like, ‘what if that was it,” Conley said after Wednesday’s loss to the Hornets. “It’s tough to look back and think of all the memories we’ve had. It’s been a long ride, and a successful one at that.”
As we head into trade deadline season, the Jazz continue to search for that dynamic third piece that up to this point has eluded them, league sources tell The Athletic. According to sources, the Jazz have expressed interest in Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley and Wizards small forward Otto Porter Jr., both of whom have been put on the trade block by their respective teams. Does that mean the Jazz will for sure actively make offers for one or both? Not necessarily. But it does mean if circumstances align, the Jazz may have interest in throwing their hat into the ring.
Then, Gasol expressed surprise over the fact that Conley's name is part of trade discussions. "I don't understand why Mike is in those talks either," Gasol said. "Mike is one heck of a player, and we're going to need good players moving forward. I don't understand why Mike is in this."
The Memphis Grizzlies may be ready to start rebuilding, listening to trade offers for the NBA's longest-tenured teammates. Guard Mike Conley said Grizzlies owner Robert Pera had told both he and center Marc Gasol on Tuesday that they will be mentioned in potential trade talks. Pera "called me just to make me aware that they were going to go about doing this," Conley said after Wednesday's shoot-around before their game against the Charlotte Hornets. "Outside of that, I haven't really thought about it or heard much about it."
Grizzlies coach J.B. Bickerstaff says he has received no directives from the front office on playing limitations or how to use Conley and Gasol in the weeks before the trade deadline. "It's obviously a distraction. It's obviously on people's minds," Bickerstaff said. "But the only way we can handle it is by paying attention to what's important now. We have no control over tomorrow. We don't have any control over what happened yesterday. .We can't waste energy on the what ifs, the possibilities."
Marc Gasol and Mike Conley are available. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported tonight that the Grizzlies would explore the trade market for each player ahead of the Feb. 7 NBA trade deadline, and this was subsequently confirmed to The Daily Memphian by a source with knowledge of the team’s thinking. It doesn’t mean that a trade for either (much less both) will happen in the next couple of weeks, but what was almost certainly already a possibility now becoming so transparently public probably makes it more likely.
For the first time, the Memphis Grizzlies will begin listening to trade offers on center Marc Gasol and guard Mike Conley, league sources tell ESPN.
The Grizzlies could decide to keep one or both players if no deals meet their threshold, but they're motivated to begin reshaping the roster around 2018 first-round pick, forward Jaren Jackson, league sources said.
Adrian Wojnarowski: For first time, Memphis will begin listening to trade offers on franchise stars Marc Gasol and Mike Conley, league sources tell ESPN. Memphis has reached a crossroads and is preparing to weigh deals involving one or both of its cornerstone veterans. Story soon on ESPN.
While there’s been speculation that Memphis would go into this offseason looking to start a rebuild of the franchise, the team has given indications that it intends to keep its core together — guard Mike Conley and center Marc Gasol — and attempt to return to the postseason under new coach J.B. Bickerstaff. That would mean losing the 2019 first-rounder to the Celtics.
What are the chances that Memphis will opt for the mega blow-up and move Mike Conley along with Gasol. As a Nuggets fan, he is my dream point guard, to pair with Jokic and Milsap. Is Jamal Murray, a first, and anyone not named Jokic, Milsap, or Harris enough to get Conley? David Aldridge: Well, you can’t ask a team for its best player and give them your third or fourth-best player, Phil. Memphis is going to ride Conley and Gasol for the foreseeable future, but if the Grizzlies were to talk trade with Denver, it would almost certainly have to include Harris or Jokic as part of a package for Conley -- and the Nuggets, almost certainly, would pass.
"We have no intention to trade Marc," Wallace told ESPN when asked if the franchise might consider dealing the 32-year-old big man. "We never seriously considered that at all. We never placed any calls to any teams in that regard. So that's not happening. "It's not just Marc that this whole equation is about. It's also Mike Conley, when he comes back. We've got two guys among the elite in the league at their respective positions that are still very much in their window with an awful lot of tread left on their tires."
Typically, the idea that Gasol could be available stems from the perception that Memphis has lost momentum and "needs" a rebuild. The Grizzlies, in reality, have made the playoffs the past seven years, and their decision to re-sign both Gasol and Mike Conley (who is also considered "untouchable" according to sources) was made with the intention of building around the duo long-term.
Brian Geltzeiler: Re: Conley MEM/DET trade talks. Source tells hoopscritic.com that Reggie Jackson would go back to MEM in a potential deal. - John Holliner: @hoopscritic lol keep trying bro you'll get one of these by blind luck eventually.
Chris Vernon: Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace just made pretty clear on show that Mike Conley on team long-term is major priority, and don't believe otherwise
Marc Stein: With 25 hours to go until trade deadline, one source close to situation says Memphis has thus far refused to talk Mike Conley with any team
Brian Geltzeiler: Sources tell hoopscritic.com that Memphis and Detroit are discussing a deal centered around Mike Conley Jr....
With the Grizzlies looking terrible every time they play a top-tier opponent (which coincides with every time they're on national television and exposed to casual fans outside of their market), there's a natural push from folks to start talking about the Grizzlies needing to trade Conley prior to a forced rebuild, "so they don't lose him and get nothing in return." This, at least according to every single person I've queried on the subject, is not the plan. Plans change and things shift very quickly in the NBA, but it's at least not where Memphis intends to be.
General Manager Chris Wallace declined comment on the prospect of trading, or not trading, any particular player citing the complexities and often rapidly changing environment that exists within the NBA trade market. However, Wallace was willing to give, in no uncertain terms, what the Grizzlies' intentions are as of now regarding Conley. "If you look back at the five years since the tide has turned for this franchise (since the 2011 playoff berth and the start of the "Grit-Grind" era)," Wallace told CBS Sports this week, "we have re-signed every core player for the Memphis Grizzlies."
