Mike Conley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Northwest Notes: Forbes, Towns, Wolves, Gasol

January 19th, 2022 at 10:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Nuggets‘ first attempt to trade Bol Bol didn’t work out, but they’re happy with the return they got on the second try, writes Mike Singer of The Denver Post. Denver officially completed a three-team deal today that sends out Bol and PJ Dozier in exchange for Bryn Forbes, a dangerous outside shooter who will have a clearly defined role on the team.

“Really for me, it comes down to Bryn Forbes is a career 42% three-point shooter,” coach Michael Malone said. “You go back to last year in their run in winning a world championship in Milwaukee, that first-round series they swept Miami, and Bryn Forbes averaged 15 points a game.”

Currently ranked 18th in three-point shooting percentage, the Nuggets have a need for Forbes, who is expected to make his debut either Friday or Sunday. Malone was disappointed to part with Dozier, who will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. Malone offered to give Dozier a role on his staff if he ever goes into coaching.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns has been working on personal growth to set a better example for his teammates, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Part of that process included making peace with Tom Thibodeau after their uneasy relationship when they were together in Minnesota. “I remember after we played the Knicks (last season) pulling Thibs to the side,” Towns said. “I said, ‘I just want to let you know I forgive you.’ There’s not bad blood. One day let’s just go get dinner. Let’s just chill. We don’t have to worry about the business side, let’s just work on our relationship.”
Timberwolves head of basketball operations Sachin Gupta will work closely with coach Chris Finch heading into the trade deadline, according to Chris Hine of The Star Tribune. They have a working relationship that dates back to their days with the Rockets, and their goal is to make moves that will benefit the team over the next five years.
Jazz guard Mike Conley recently reached out to Marc Gasol, his long-time teammate with Grizzlies, tweets Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune. Gasol is playing in Spain this season, but has indicated that he may have interest in returning to the NBA. “I texted him when we had no bigs. I said, ‘If you wanna come back, now’s the time,’” Conley said. “… He’s happy. I don’t know if he’ll return. But I told him the invitation is out there.”

Jazz Notes: Player Development, Conley, Niang, Wade

November 17th, 2021 at 10:36am CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz‘s player development track record is getting hard to ignore, according to Ben Dowsett of FiveThirtyEight.com, who points not to stars like Donovan Mitchell or Rudy Gobert, but to veterans like Joe Ingles, Jordan Clarkson, and – most recently – Royce O’Neale.

Dowsett contends that the mid-career leaps those players have made in Utah are in large part due to head coach Quin Snyder‘s developmental program. For his part, Snyder is reluctant to take credit, suggesting that the players themselves are the ones responsible for their positive strides.

“It’s a credit to the players,” Snyder said. “Sometimes you can be content, especially if you’re successful in this league and have established yourself, to do what you do, so to speak.”

Here’s more on the Jazz:

After Mike Conley missed several key games in last season’s playoffs due to a hamstring injury, the Jazz are doing all they can in 2021/22 to make sure he’s fully healthy for the postseason, writes Tony Jones of The Athletic. That includes limiting Conley’s minutes and sitting him in certain back-to-back sets, which the veteran guard is still getting used to. “I think the plan is going to pay dividends at the end,” Conley said. “I don’t like sitting games at all. I definitely prefer to play. But if it’s going to give me a better chance at health in the long run, I’m all for it. Especially if it’s going to help the team.”
In a separate story for The Athletic, Jones explores how Georges Niang, who returned to Utah on Tuesday as a member of the Sixers, developed into a reliable NBA player with the Jazz, noting that Niang still holds the franchise in high regard. “Being in Utah, it took me from a young man to an adult,” he said. “I can’t be thankful enough to the Jazz organization, and I had four great years in Utah.”
McKay Coppins of The Deseret News takes an in-depth look at the impact new team owner Ryan Smith has had on the Jazz and the greater aspirations he has for the state of Utah.
In a Q&A with Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today, Dwyane Wade spoke about being a part-owner of the Jazz and said that his role with the franchise will be “forever evolving” as he learns more about the business side of basketball.

Northwest Notes: Simons, Conley, Azubuike, Z. Wade

October 31st, 2021 at 1:57pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Trail Blazers forward Anfernee Simons has really started to blossom during his fourth year, writes Jason Quick of The Athletic.

A lot of Simons’ improvement appears to be a credit to his commitment to offseason workouts with longtime trainer Phil Beckner. One of Portland’s many undersized guards, Simons is averaging career highs of 12.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 2.4 APG and 22.8 MPG through his first five games during the 2021/22 season.

“Usually, he would train with me here and there,” Beckner said. “And at the start of the summer he wanted to know where I was going to be. I told him either Phoenix or Portland. So I asked him where he was going to be. His answer: ‘Wherever you are at.”’

“Everybody kept telling me, ‘My time is coming. My time is coming …’ and I wanted to be prepared,” Simons said. “New coach, new opportunity, and I wanted to be prepared as much as possible to show I’m ready for it. So that was my whole thing this summer: follow Phil around and get better each day.”

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

34-year-old veteran Jazz point guard Mike Conley sat out his first game of the season yesterday, a 107-99 loss to the Bulls in which the Jazz desperately could have used Conley’s leadership, in a conscientious load management decision from head coach Quin Snyder. Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune details Utah’s thinking. “It’s more of a holistic decision, and one that we think is the best for our team and for Mike,” Snyder said. “I think, given the choice, he’d try to play every back-to-back. But I’m not gonna let him do that.” Conley is set to return tonight against the Bucks, per Jazz.com.
Newly-installed Jazz general manager Justin Zanik addressed the decision to pick up the team’s 2022/23 option on intriguing second-year center Udoka Azubuike, writes Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune. “I was very happy with him in the summer and the work that he’s done,” Zanik said. “It’s just really hard to be in game-type shape when you’re not playing games.” Azubuike appeared in just 15 contests as a rookie.
19-year-old rookie guard Zaire Wade, selected with the tenth pick in the NBA G League draft by the Salt Lake City Stars, G League affiliate to the Jazz, acknowledged grappling with detractors in his entrance to the pro ranks, writes Andy Larsen of the Salt Lake Tribune. His father, future Hall-of-Famer Dwyane Wade, is a part-owner of the Jazz. “I think a lot of people think that I’m not a hard-working kid and things get handed to me,” Zaire said. “Nothing’s handed to me. Coach said he noticed after the first day I stepped here, I’m just working hard trying to earn everything myself. I’m trying to make a name for myself.”

Western Notes: Conley, Valanciunas, Ayton, Mann

October 30th, 2021 at 10:46am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Knicks, Bulls, Mavericks and Pelicans showed interest in Mike Conley during free agency but re-signing with the Jazz was an “easy” choice, as he told Sam Amick of The Athletic.

“It was an easy decision (based) on what we had built here and what I was able to be a part of last year and in the last few seasons,” he said. “Just wanted to be a part of that journey with these guys. Trying to bring a championship to a place that, you know, it’s not easy to do. I think that seeing Milwaukee win was awesome.”

Conley signed a three-year, $68MM contract that includes some incentives.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Jonas Valanciunas has quickly emerged as a crucial player for the Pelicans, William Guillory of The Athletic writes. Valanciunas is averaging 18.2 PPG and 14.7 RPG while logging a career-high 34.3 MPG through six games. Coach Willie Green said the starters would continue to play big minutes until Zion Williamson returns. “Right now, those guys are going to play high minutes. That’s why we’re not doing much at practice,” Green said. After being acquired from Memphia, Valanciunas signed a two-year, $30.1MM extension this fall.
Suns coach Monty Williams isn’t worried about Deandre Ayton‘s focus even though the team didn’t reach an extension agreement with their center, Amick writes in a separate story. In fact, Williams hopes Ayton plays more selfishly as he heads toward restricted free agency. “He probably doesn’t get enough credit for how unselfish he is. We want him to be more selfish,” Williams said. “We want him to be more aggressive, but I don’t foresee that happening. The young man wants to win, and that’s what I’ve seen since I’ve been with him from Day 1.”
The Thunder have assigned Tre Mann, the 18th overall pick, to the G League’s Oklahoma City Blue. Head coach Mark Daigneault believes that will accelerate his development more than having him play spotty minutes with the Thunder, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. “His ability to go there, play more minutes, take on a heavier load defensively, find a little bit of rhythm offensively, settle into games a little bit more, settle into practices a little bit more is a great opportunity for him to grow,” Daigneault said. Oklahoma City also has a logjam of young guards, Mussatto notes.

Western Notes: Ennis, Lakers, Suns, Little, Jazz

September 24th, 2021 at 10:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Free agent forward James Ennis worked out for the Lakers this week, sources tell Jovan Buha of The Athletic (Twitter link). Ennis, who was linked to Los Angeles earlier in free agency, would make sense as a depth piece on the wing for the Lakers, who only have 13 players on guaranteed contracts.

As we relayed earlier today, the Lakers figure to keep their 15th roster spot open during the regular season to keep their projected tax bill in check, but the 14th spot remains up for grabs.

Here’s more from around the West:

The Suns issued a press release today announcing some additions to their coaching staff, including Michael Ruffin as an assistant. Ruffin has some experience working under Monty Williams in the past, having served as an assistant on the Pelicans’ staff from 2014-20. The 2014/15 season was Williams’ last as New Orleans’ head coach.
Nassir Little, the 25th pick in the 2019 draft, hasn’t made a major impact for the Trail Blazers during his first two years in the NBA, but he has turned heads this offseason, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. Quick says team officials are intrigued by Little and believe he can “contribute in a way that is unique.” While the 21-year-old figures to play mostly a three-and-D role, Little says new head coach Chauncey Billups also wants to see him improve his play-making skills.
Sarah Todd of The Deseret News examines nine questions the Jazz should answer by the end of training camp next week, including whether their star guards – Donovan Mitchell and Mike Conley – are healthy and pain-free after dealing with injuries late last season.

Western Notes: Ingles, Bogdanovic, O’Neale, Conley, Gay, Adelman, Doncic

August 11th, 2021 at 9:58pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Jazz are well above the luxury tax line after re-signing Mike Conley and adding Rudy Gay in free agency but they don’t plan on dumping any of their mid-salaried players to ease the burden, Zach Lowe of ESPN reports. Lowe names Joe Ingles ($12.4MM), Bojan Bogdanovic ($18.7MM) and Royce O’Neale ($8.8MM) as the type of players that the Jazz could look to dump if they wanted to get below the tax line or reduce the bill. There’s no indication any of them are going anywhere anytime soon.

We have more from the Western Conference:

Conley played a role in convincing Gay to leave the Spurs for the Jazz in free agency, Sarah Todd of The Deseret News writes. Conley said the front office urged him to recruit his former Memphis teammate. “I’ve done it little bit (before) but not at this capacity,” Conley said. “I was like putting babies down for bed and having to drop them and go take a call because I’m trying to make sure we lock up a guy like Rudy. … I was really locked in on that and it was fun.”
David Adelman will be the lead assistant for the Nuggets, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jordi Fernandez will be the second assistant under Michael Malone while Popeye Jones, whose addition to the staff was previously reported, will be the third assistant on Malone’s bench.
Luka Doncic‘s new contract extension includes a 15% trade kicker, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. However, the trade bonus would only kick in if the cap rose significantly in the future, since a trade bonus can’t increase a player’s salary beyond the maximum and the All-NBA guard has already qualified for a higher max salary than he’d typically be eligible for. Doncic’s five-year, $207MM extension with the Mavericks became official on Tuesday.

Northwest Notes: Conley, Jazz, Collison, Thunder, Wolves

August 10th, 2021 at 1:45pm CST by Arthur Hill

Now that Mike Conley‘s contract situation is worked out, he’s focused on helping the Jazz win a championship, writes John Coon of The Associated Press. Conley received interest from multiple teams before agreeing to a three-year, $68MM contract to stay in Utah.

“Last year had a disappointing end to it,” he said. “But all the strides we’ve made along the way allow us to come into this season still chasing that championship — that ultimate goal. And it’s something that’s truly attainable. Something we can grasp. We’re right there. We’re knocking on the door.”

Conley also addressed the hamstring issue that caused him to miss five of the six games in the second-round series with the Clippers, saying he’s making progress toward a full recovery.

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

The Jazz haven’t historically been a popular destination for free agents, but that may be changing after the team’s success last season, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. In addition to keeping Conley, Utah was able to sign veteran free agents Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside. “A lot of really, really good teams were coming after me and wanted me to be there but I think this team was the team that had the most need for what I can do,” Gay said in his introductory press conference. “The culture, the ownership group is great, coach Quin (Snyder) is great. They really sold me on it.”
The Thunder announced in a press release on Tuesday that Nick Collison has been hired to the team’s front office, having been named a special assistant to general manager Sam Presti. According to Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman (Twitter link), Eric Maynor is also moving from the OKC Blue staff to the Thunder as a player development coach, while Anthony Morrow has been hired as a lifestyle services and engagement associate.
The $27.5MM+ trade exception the Thunder created in last fall’s Steven Adams trade has now expired. As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Instagram video) observes, it’s not a big loss for Oklahoma City, since the team can still create up to $32MM in cap room by renouncing the rest of its exceptions if it so chooses.
Incoming Timberwolves owners Alex Rodriguez and Marc Lore continue to do the media rounds, speaking to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic about how their partnership with Glen Taylor will work for the next couple years, and talking to Shams Charania of Stadium (video link) about their commitment to Minnesota.

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Western Contract Details: Gay, Conley, Graham, Nunn, SGA

August 8th, 2021 at 11:15am CST by Luke Adams

Originally reported as a two-year deal with a second-year player option, Rudy Gay‘s new contract with the Jazz actually covers three years, with a third-year player option, according to Keith Smith of Spotrac (Twitter link). The full three-year value of the contract, which was officially announced on Friday, comes in at about $18.55MM.

Smith has details on several other newly-signed contracts from around the Western Conference, so let’s dive in and round up some of the highlights (all links are courtesy of Smith)…

Mike Conley‘s three-year deal with the Jazz includes some unlikely bonuses and has a partial guarantee on year three (Twitter link). The 2023/24 salary of $24.36MM is only guaranteed for $14.32MM.
Devonte’ Graham‘s four-year contract with the Pelicans starts at $11MM and features 5% annual raises (Twitter link). The fourth year salary of $12.65MM is only partially guaranteed for $2.85MM.
The Lakers used most of their taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Kendrick Nunn (Twitter link). His deal is worth $5MM in 2021/22, with a $5.25MM second-year player option.
The Mavericks used the full non-taxpayer mid-level exception to sign Reggie Bullock to a three-year deal worth slightly over $30MM (Twitter link). The contract, which includes a 5% trade bonus, is only guaranteed for $5.45MM (of $10.49MM) in the final year.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s five-year, maximum-salary extension with the Thunder includes a 15% trade kicker (Twitter link).

Mike Conley Returns To Jazz On Three-Year Contract

August 6th, 2021 at 7:03pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 6: Conley’s deal with the Jazz is now official, the team announced in a press release. General manager Justin Zanik said in a statement that the team is “excited” to bring Conley back and that he has made a “profound impact both on and off the court” during his time in Utah.

The team also officially announced its new deals with Rudy Gay and Hassan Whiteside.

AUGUST 2: The Jazz have reached an agreement with free agent point guard Mike Conley on a three-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

According to Charania, the deal is worth $68MM. Agents Steve Heumann and Jess Holtz of CAA Basketball told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski the contract is worth $72.5MM (Twitter link), suggesting that it could include incentives or bonuses.

A report surfaced over the weekend that Jazz were on track to lock up the veteran on a three-year deal. Bringing him back was Utah’s top offseason priority.

As a team with luxury tax concerns, the Jazz needed to shed salary to improve that situation and retain Conley. Utah made a deal to dump a contract last week, having traded Derrick Favors to Oklahoma City.

Conley, 33, struggled in his first year in Utah in 2019/20, but the longtime Grizzlies guard turned things around this past season, averaging 16.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 3.5 RPG with a .444/.412/.852 shooting line in 51 games (29.4 MPG). He earned his first All-Star appearance in his 14th NBA season.

Conley was forced to miss games during the postseason due to a hamstring injury, which led to a disappointing finish for a team that had the league’s best regular season record.

Jazz Rumors: Conley, Niang, MLE, Porter, Gay

August 2nd, 2021 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz remain on track to finalize an agreement on a three-year contract with Mike Conley once free agency officially opens tonight, reports Tony Jones of The Athletic. Previous reports have indicated that Utah is the strong frontrunner to bring back Conley and that the team is preparing a three-year offer in the neighborhood of $75MM for the veteran point guard. Based on Jones’ report, it sounds like that hasn’t changed and a deal could be in place later today.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

League sources tell Jones that free agent forward Georges Niang is highly unlikely to return to the Jazz, since he’s unrestricted and is expected to draw significant interest from rival suitors.
Even though the Conley signing will take them well over the luxury tax line, the Jazz are willing to use the taxpayer’s mid-level exception (worth about $5.9MM) in free agency, writes Jones. However, the team won’t use it just for the sake of using it, and will want to land one of its primary targets.
Otto Porter and Rudy Gay are among the free agent forwards on Utah’s radar, according to Jones. However, Jones hears that Porter may be leaning toward the Nets, while Gay is believed to be eyeing the Lakers.
Following up on Utah’s trade that sent Derrick Favors to Oklahoma City, Jones reports that Favors will meet with the Thunder‘s front office on Tuesday. That meeting is expected to determine whether Favors sticks with OKC or whether another trade could be forthcoming. It’s worth noting that the Jazz wouldn’t be permitted to re-sign Favors if he were bought out by the Thunder, though a buyout is unlikely anyway since he has two years left on his contract.