Mike Conley? Why Not

[High Stakes]

I get he doesn’t fit “the timeline” but could we do better in FA? He only has 2 more yrs on his deal. He will be 33-34 when contract is up. I wouldn’t mind JA Morant learning begind him for those 2 years. What would you give up?

Warren/Jackson/oubre (1 of 3)
Milwaukee pick
2020 first rd pick (top 8 protected)
Anderson to fill salary

I would do that immediately.

 

[Mainstreet]

Playing along I had the Suns trade Anderson and Warren plus Bucks pick for Conley.

Considering Conley will be 32 to start next season this is a good return.

 

[GatorAZ]

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[AzStevenCal]

His contract runs for two more seasons after this one, I doubt his body holds up. He can't shoot, he's on the decline and he's going to make 32 and then 34 million the next 2 years. We're desperate, sure, but we shouldn't give away assets to prove it.

 

[Mainstreet]

His contract runs for two more seasons after this one, I doubt his body holds up. He can't shoot, he's on the decline and he's going to make 32 and then 34 million the next 2 years. We're desperate, sure, but we shouldn't give away assets to prove it.

Now we move on to Dragic.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Now we move on to Dragic.

If we could just add Conley without having to absorb extra salary and without giving away picks or players, I'd love to have him even with his foot problem and salary. But there's just too many black marks involved to make a deal palatable IMO. And Goran looks almost done out there. If we had a good starter, he might make sense as a FA backup but I wouldn't trade for him even if I could ignore the fact he quit on us twice before.

 

[Mainstreet]

If we could just add Conley without having to absorb extra salary and without giving away picks or players, I'd love to have him even with his foot problem and salary. But there's just too many black marks involved to make a deal palatable IMO. And Goran looks almost done out there. If we had a good starter, he might make sense as a FA backup but I wouldn't trade for him even if I could ignore the fact he quit on us twice before.

Yes. The money, age assets and injuries make it a no go for Conley. Plus the Suns would sacrifice their lottery standing this season.

I keep thinking their must be a young point guard that can be had for their second round pick.

 

[elindholm]

I get he doesn’t fit “the timeline” but could we do better in FA? He only has 2 more yrs on his deal. He will be 33-34 when contract is up. I wouldn’t mind JA Morant learning begind him for those 2 years. What would you give up?

Warren/Jackson/oubre (1 of 3)
Milwaukee pick
2020 first rd pick (top 8 protected)
Anderson to fill salary

I would do that immediately.

He's owed $67 million over the next two years. Any team that takes on that contract is doing Memphis a favor.

 

[GatorAZ]

If we could just add Conley without having to absorb extra salary and without giving away picks or players, I'd love to have him even with his foot problem and salary. But there's just too many black marks involved to make a deal palatable IMO. And Goran looks almost done out there. If we had a good starter, he might make sense as a FA backup but I wouldn't trade for him even if I could ignore the fact he quit on us twice before.

Truth be told he’s having a pretty good year. 20 pts on 16 shots, 6+ assists to 1.8 TO’s. He wouldn’t prevent us from drafting Morant either.

But as Mainstreet alluded to he’d probably worsen our draft slot by 4-5 teams and that’s still important to some of us.

 

[sunsfan88]

He's owed $67 million over the next two years. Any team that takes on that contract is doing Memphis a favor.

Same can be said about Ryan Anderson.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Truth be told he’s having a pretty good year. 20 pts on 16 shots, 6+ assists to 1.8 TO’s. He wouldn’t prevent us from drafting Morant either.

But as Mainstreet alluded to he’d probably worsen our draft slot by 4-5 teams and that’s still important to some of us.

Assuming we're talking about Suns fans it's important to all of us, even if some of us don't realize it yet. And yeah, he still can't shoot but Conley is having one of his better years despite their current fortunes.

 

[sunsfan88]

Assuming we're talking about Suns fans it's important to all of us, even if some of us don't realize it yet. And yeah, he still can't shoot but Conley is having one of his better years despite their current fortunes.

Don’t understand why you keep repeating this because he’s shooting 35% on 6 attempts per game and shoots 84% from the FT. That’s not that bad and actually a higher percentage on nearly double the volume than a guy like Mikal Bridges who many claim is a good shooter.

I think Conley probably gets better looks next to Booker and Ayton than he does in Memphis playing for the worst coach in the league.

 

[slinslin]

they should absolutely get Conley if the price is right and they can move Anderson.

we have enough timeline pieces, this roster mess needs to be adressed.

our capspace is going to be worthless because we look like a dumpster fire again and might have to fire our coach again.

We need to get a PG and a forward that more closely resembles a PF.

I suggest this trade:

http://www.espn.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=yak7egp5

Suns get: Mike Conley and Aaron Gordon
Grizzlies get: Ryan Anderson, Dragan Bender, Elie Okobo, Suns 2019 2nd round pick and a lottery protected future Suns pick
Orlando gets: TJ Warren, Troy Daniels, Jawun Evans, Milwaukee Pick

or a variation of this with Kevin Love instead of Aaron Gordon in theory should work since Anderson, Warren, Daniels, Bender, Okobo, Evans and Crawford would be a legal trade for Conley and Gasol ( who makes exactly the same as Love).

Suns are going to regret buying out Arthur and Chandler because making good use of the capspace seems unlikely.

 

[slinslin]

His contract runs for two more seasons after this one, I doubt his body holds up. He can't shoot, he's on the decline and he's going to make 32 and then 34 million the next 2 years. We're desperate, sure, but we shouldn't give away assets to prove it.

he shoots well enough, 35% from 3.

He plays solid defense, does not turn it over.

 

[Phrazbit]

I get he doesn’t fit “the timeline” but could we do better in FA? He only has 2 more yrs on his deal. He will be 33-34 when contract is up. I wouldn’t mind JA Morant learning begind him for those 2 years. What would you give up?

Warren/Jackson/oubre (1 of 3)
Milwaukee pick
2020 first rd pick (top 8 protected)
Anderson to fill salary

I would do that immediately.

Lets see...

Why would we NOT do that?

1. He's old.

2. He has been injured constantly.

3. He's paid a fortune.

4. He takes us out of free agency this summer when there will be multiple better options.

5. I suspect that the Grizz would swap him for cap relief and one highly protected pick, your "godfather" offer would probably kill the poor sap who answer the phone.

Why WOULD we do that?

1. This season, he, if he remains healthy, could elevate us to merely 4th or 5th worst in the league, rather than 2nd or 3rd worst.

2. We'd probably be the first team in league history to, while in the cellar of their conference, to swap a ton of valuable assets for a 30+ year old, zero time all-star, on a dicey contract. So... at least we'd be memorable. Kinda like the Nets/Celtics trade or Vikings trading for Herschel Walker.

 

[Krangodnzr]

Horrible idea. Stay the course. Don't throw good (assets) at bad (contracts). He could get injured tomorrow and miss a good portion of the remainder of contract.

If you think Ryan Anderson has a bad contract, Conley has a worse contract.

What you should be asking: Does this move make this team better 2-3 years down the road? Mike Conley merely makes this team better right now only.

The Grizzlies should be adding sweetners in this trade scenario NOT the Suns.

 

[sunsfan88]

Horrible idea. Stay the course. Don't throw good (assets) at bad (contracts). He could get injured tomorrow and miss a good portion of the remainder of contract.

If you think Ryan Anderson has a bad contract, Conley has a worse contract.

What you should be asking: Does this move make this team better 2-3 years down the road? Mike Conley merely makes this team better right now only.

The Grizzlies should be adding sweetners in this trade scenario NOT the Suns.

No he doesn’t. Conley has 1 year longer than Anderson but he’s actually a productive player unlike Anderson.

 

[SirStefan32]

I am torn. I am actually OK with a stop-gap point guard for a couple of years. Theoretically, they'd get a little bit better while the youngsters develop, which should make them good enough to attract quality free agents. It would also give Melton and Okobo a chance to develop, if the Suns really view either one of them as a potential point guard of the future.

On the other hand, if you get a stop-gap PG, you are kind of stuck with them. Cap space is likely gone, you can't really do anything other than extend your current players. I understand I am exaggerating here- you can still theoretically trade, sign minimum-level players, you still have a mid-level exceptions, etc, but the point remains that you are largely stuck with what you have. Additionally, a stop-gap point guard is going to cost something. Memphis isn't just gonna give Conley away for free.

I suppose what I'd do would depend on how much Conley costs, and what I think my chances are of attracting others. Frankly, I may overpay someone like Collison for two years than trade for Conley. He would cost nothing to acquire, and still make less money than Conley.

 

[sunsfan88]

I’d only offer Anderson/Bucks 1st but that should be enough to get the Grizzlies to bite because I can’t imagine they get much better offers due to Conley’s salary and what they would have to receive to offset that.

 

[GatorAZ]

I am torn. I am actually OK with a stop-gap point guard for a couple of years. Theoretically, they'd get a little bit better while the youngsters develop, which should make them good enough to attract quality free agents. It would also give Melton and Okobo a chance to develop, if the Suns really view either one of them as a potential point guard of the future.

On the other hand, if you get a stop-gap PG, you are kind of stuck with them. Cap space is likely gone, you can't really do anything other than extend your current players. I understand I am exaggerating here- you can still theoretically trade, sign minimum-level players, you still have a mid-level exceptions, etc, but the point remains that you are largely stuck with what you have. Additionally, a stop-gap point guard is going to cost something. Memphis isn't just gonna give Conley away for free.

I suppose what I'd do would depend on how much Conley costs, and what I think my chances are of attracting others. Frankly, I may overpay someone like Collison for two years than trade for Conley. He would cost nothing to acquire, and still make less money than Conley.

You mean it would prevent us from signing FA’s like Chandler, Dudley and Ariza?

 

[SirStefan32]

You mean it would prevent us from signing FA’s like Chandler, Dudley and Ariza?

And that's exactly what makes this complicated. Suns lose the capspace, so the question is whether or not they would be able to use that capspace for a difference-maker or another Chandler, Dudley, or Ariza.

 

[slinslin]

And that's exactly what makes this complicated. Suns lose the capspace, so the question is whether or not they would be able to use that capspace for a difference-maker or another Chandler, Dudley, or Ariza.

If the Suns move Ryan Anderson and TJ Warren they gain capspace, not lose capspace.

Our capspace is a mirage anyway unless we let Kelly Oubre walk and stretch Ryan Anderson we have very little capspace.

 

[Krangodnzr]

No he doesn’t. Conley has 1 year longer than Anderson but he’s actually a productive player unlike Anderson.

That's only IF Conley Stays healthy. If he misses significant time? It's a lot worse.

 

[Krangodnzr]

I am torn. I am actually OK with a stop-gap point guard for a couple of years. Theoretically, they'd get a little bit better while the youngsters develop, which should make them good enough to attract quality free agents. It would also give Melton and Okobo a chance to develop, if the Suns really view either one of them as a potential point guard of the future.

On the other hand, if you get a stop-gap PG, you are kind of stuck with them. Cap space is likely gone, you can't really do anything other than extend your current players. I understand I am exaggerating here- you can still theoretically trade, sign minimum-level players, you still have a mid-level exceptions, etc, but the point remains that you are largely stuck with what you have. Additionally, a stop-gap point guard is going to cost something. Memphis isn't just gonna give Conley away for free.

I suppose what I'd do would depend on how much Conley costs, and what I think my chances are of attracting others. Frankly, I may overpay someone like Collison for two years than trade for Conley. He would cost nothing to acquire, and still make less money than Conley.

Collison would be a good get. Or Jrue Holliday. Conley is likely the worst vet PG to get. Kills all flexibility. Already declining. High injury risk.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I’d only offer Anderson/Bucks 1st but that should be enough to get the Grizzlies to bite because I can’t imagine they get much better offers due to Conley’s salary and what they would have to receive to offset that.

That's a significantly negative value offer on our part. I can't imagine they'd make that deal even if Conley demanded a trade. Regardless, I suspect somewhere out there is a team that figures with the right addition that it has a short term window to compete for a playoff spot or a finals berth that will make a decent offer. It just shouldn't be us.