Mike Conley will have his pick of the litter when he hits free agency in July. That’s the luxury of being the best—and the only—star point guard on the market.
The Memphis Grizzlies are, of course, in play to keep him. He has spent his entire career with them, and they can offer more money and years than any other team.
If he does leave, though, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com heard we should keep our eyes on the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs:
For Memphis to keep Mike Conley, the Grizzlies would have to commit to a five-year contract for the top point guard available in the free agency market, sources told ESPN.com. The fifth year, which only the Grizzlies can offer Conley, would be worth more than $33 million on a max contract.
A source said the Spurs and Mavericks are among the other teams that would interest Conley, who intends to explore his options in free agency. The Spurs would have to answer questions about how Conley would fit with Tony Parker, according to the source, who said that Conley has great respect for Dallas coach Rick Carlisle.
The Knicks and Pacers would have been attractive to Mike Conley, an Indianapolis native, but those two teams addressed their needs at point guards with trades today.
The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks are out of play. Indiana traded for Jeff Teague, and the Knicks acquired Derrick Rose—on the same day, mind you. And while the Spurs don’t really need a point man, Tony Parker is getting up there and Patty Mills isn’t the truest playmaker.
The Mavericks have some semblance of an edge here, because they literally don’t have to do anything to create the max space it would take to seduce Conley. The Spurs, meanwhile, must stage some salary dumps, two of which will include Boris Diaw (non-guaranteed) and Danny Green.
Could you imagine a Mavericks roster with Conley, Dirk Nowitzki, Chandler Parsons, Dwight Howard and Chandler Parsons as its core? Probably not. It’s financially impossible. Dirk will take a discount and Howard may come to terms with his below-max ceiling, but Conley will cost the max, as will Parsons, for whom the Mavericks don’t have full Bird rights.
Either Dallas or San Antonio would be a good option for Mike Conley, though. You can even argue that both are better long-term fits than Memphis, even though that remains his most likely landing spot.
