Mike Conley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

USA Basketball Announces 44 Finalists For 2020 Olympic Roster

February 10th, 2020 at 10:21am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has formally announced a preliminary group of 44 players who are candidates to be part of the program’s roster for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.

The final roster will only consist of 12 players, so most of these finalists won’t actually play for Team USA at the Olympics. Some will likely withdraw from consideration, while others simply won’t make the final cut. However, these players have all expressed interest in being involved in the process.

“This is the first step in USA Basketball identifying the 12 players who will represent the United States as members of the 2020 U.S. Olympic Men’s Basketball Team in Tokyo,” said USA Basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo.

“… Over the course of the remainder of the NBA season we’ll continue to monitor all of the athletes. Selecting the 12-man USA roster will obviously be an extremely challenging and difficult process, and we will again attempt to select the very best team possible to represent our country and who we hope will be successful in our difficult mission of repeating as Olympic champions for a fourth consecutive Olympics.”

Although the U.S. men’s team has won three consecutive Olympic gold medals, the program had a disappointing showing at last year’s World Cup, finishing in seventh place. Team USA will be looking for a bounce-back performance in Tokyo this summer, with many players from that World Cup squad among the 44 finalists announced today.

Here’s the full list of players who are candidates to play for Team USA at the 2020 Olympics:

Bam Adebayo (Heat)
LaMarcus Aldridge (Spurs)
Harrison Barnes (Kings)
Bradley Beal (Wizards)
Devin Booker (Suns)
Malcolm Brogdon (Pacers)
Jaylen Brown (Celtics)
Jimmy Butler (Heat)
Mike Conley (Jazz)
Stephen Curry (Warriors)
Anthony Davis (Lakers)
DeMar DeRozan (Spurs)
Andre Drummond (Cavaliers)
Kevin Durant (Nets)
Paul George (Clippers)
Draymond Green (Warriors)
James Harden (Rockets)
Montrezl Harrell (Clippers)
Joe Harris (Nets)
Tobias Harris (76ers)
Gordon Hayward (Celtics)
Dwight Howard (Lakers)
Brandon Ingram (Pelicans)
Kyrie Irving (Nets)
LeBron James (Lakers)
Kyle Kuzma (Lakers)
Kawhi Leonard (Clippers)
Damian Lillard (Blazers)
Brook Lopez (Bucks)
Kevin Love (Cavaliers)
Kyle Lowry (Raptors)
JaVale McGee (Lakers)
Khris Middleton (Bucks)
Donovan Mitchell (Jazz)
Victor Oladipo (Pacers)
Chris Paul (Thunder)
Mason Plumlee (Nuggets)
Marcus Smart (Celtics)
Jayson Tatum (Celtics)
Klay Thompson (Warriors)
Myles Turner (Pacers)
Kemba Walker (Celtics)
Russell Westbrook (Rockets)
Derrick White (Spurs)

Jazz Rumors: Trade Market, Davis, Carroll, Conley

February 4th, 2020 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

The Jazz probably won’t do anything too drastic at this week’s trade deadline, but they’d like to “upgrade around the margins” if possible, league sources tell Tony Jones of The Athletic. Having already dealt Dante Exum and a pair of second-round picks for Jordan Clarkson, Utah no longer has as many expendable assets that could be included in a trade, but would “jump” at any opportunity to improve its roster, says Jones.

One player who could be on the block is Ed Davis. As Jones points out, things haven’t worked out for Davis in Utah so far — he’s averaged a career-worst 1.3 PPG and 3.8 RPG in 25 games (10.7 MPG). The veteran center would like to play more and the Jazz are open to moving him, according to Jones. However, if they can’t find a trade they like, the two sides figure to move forward together, since a buyout isn’t a realistic option due to the big man’s guaranteed $5MM+ salary for 2020/21.

Here’s more from Jones on the Jazz:

Utah’s front office has at least “superficially” discussed the idea of targeting veteran forward DeMarre Carroll, who is on the trade block in San Antonio. Jones notes that there’s uncertainty about how much Carroll has left in the tank, given his down year with the Spurs.
Sources tell The Athletic that the Jazz don’t want to move any “core” players. That group includes Mike Conley, who is unlikely to be discussed at all in trade talks this week, according to Jones.
If the Jazz don’t end up doing anything by the trade deadline, they’d like to be active on the buyout market, Jones writes.

Northwest Notes: Porter Jr., Blazers, Nuggets, Conley

February 2nd, 2020 at 7:58pm CST by JD Shaw

For Michael Porter Jr., focusing on the postseason is significantly more important than being snubbed from the Rising Stars Challenge this past week, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes.

“He knows I deserve to be a Rising Star, be in that game, but I’m gonna be playing in the playoffs, and that’s worth a lot more to me than playing in that game,” Porter said, mentioning that he sent coach Mike Malone a lengthy text after the Rising Stars rosters were announced. “So I’m just gonna keep working, get my rest during that All-Star break and be ready for that second half of the season.”

As noted by Singer, six of the 10 players selected to the annual game for the United States are currently out of the playoffs. Porter has given consistent production in his first NBA season, averaging eight points, 4.4 rebounds and 14.3 minutes through 39 contests.

“I’ll use it as motivation, but I don’t really try to play the game out of anger,” Porter said. “Like I’m not going to go out there and be mad I didn’t make it, so try to go score a bunch of points. Like I just go out there and try to play the game that I love. To not get picked, it definitely adds some fuel to the fire. It is what it is. Man, that’s other people’s decision.”

The Nuggets currently have a 34-16 record through the season’s first 50 games, good for the third-best record in the Western Conference. Porter missed the team’s game against Detroit on Sunday due to an ankle injury, with Denver losing in overtime 128-123.

Here are some other notes from the Northwest Division:

Trail Blazers president Neil Olshey should take the week off and not make any monumental changes to his team, Jason Quick of The Athletic opines. Portland has been red hot over the past 1-to-2 weeks, led by Damian Lillard‘s incredible production (48.8 points per game in his last six contests). The team has won four straight games and is 7-3 in it’s last 10 outings. “I think it’s definitely a conversation,” Lillard said when asked if this group needs to be kept together to continue its momentum, according to Quick. “We are moving, and it’s against good teams. Golden State, Indiana, Houston, Lakers, Utah … I mean, good wins, so there’s something to be said about it.”
Nick Kosmider of The Athletic explores various trades the Nuggets could consider ahead of Thursday’s trade deadline, labeling Jrue Holiday, Robert Covington and others as potential targets. Denver is 34-16 and sports one of the league’s best offenses.
The Jazz shuffled their lineup against Portland on Saturday, choosing to start Mike Conley at point guard and bring Royce O’Neale off the bench, ESPN’s Tim McMahon writes. Utah thrived off a Mitchell-O’Neale-Ingles-Bogdanovic-Gobert starting lineup without Conley, who missed several games due to a hamstring strain. “I know how frustrated he’s been because he’s wanted to play,” coach Quin Snyder said. “You hear about someone’s character, and until you go through things with them and you see how they react to that adversity … that’s what he’s demonstrated in my mind.”

Northwest Notes: Grant, Millsap, Anthony, Conley, Napier

January 31st, 2020 at 5:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

What the Nuggets decide to do with Jerami Grant and Paul Millsap provides an intriguing subplot to the offseason, Mike Singer of the Denver Post writes. Millsap will be an unrestricted free agent and Grant can join him on the market by declining his $9.35MM option. Grant is undersized at the power forward spot but brings more agility and shot blocking to the four spot. The Nuggets will probably try to re-sign Grant but could also bring back Millsap if he’s willing to meet their price, Singer adds.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony is still too distraught over Kobe Bryant’s passing to take the court, especially at the Staples Center. Anthony will sit out the Portland-Los Angeles Lakers game on Friday, Stadium’s Shams Charania tweets, as he continues to grieve over the loss of his close friend.
The Jazz are close to returning point guard Mike Conley to the starting lineup, according to Charania. Conley has come off the bench in six games since he recovered from an aggravated hamstring strain. Utah wants Conley to reestablish chemistry with the other starters, most notably backcourt partner Donovan Mitchell and center Rudy Gobert, Charania adds.
The lack of a good plan regarding their point guard rotation has been the Timberwolves’ biggest issue, Michael Rand of the Minneapolis Star Tribune opines. Jeff Teague wasn’t a good fit prior to being traded to Atlanta because Minnesota needed a floor leader adept at pushing the tempo. Shabazz Napier has been a good pickup but he’s probably best suited for a 15-20 minute backup role while Jordan McLaughlin is more of an emergency backup than a second-unit player, Rand adds.

After Lengthy Absence, Conley “Ready To Go” For Jazz

January 18th, 2020 at 1:53pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

After a left hamstring injury caused Jazz point guard Mike Conley to miss 19 of the team’s last 20 contests, the 32-year-old is probable to return to action in a home tilt against the Kings tonight, according to Aaron Falk of UtahJazz.com.

“I’ve been waiting a long time,” Conley told gathered reporters following a Saturday morning Jazz shootaround. “I’m ready to go.”

The Jazz thrived in Conley’s absence, going 16-4 without him, including a recently-snapped 10-game win streak. They are 12-9 with Conley in the lineup.

Expected to be the missing piece that could vault the Jazz into championship contention after the team had been a recent also-ran in the crowded West, Conley has been a disappointment thus far in Utah. He is averaging just 13.6 PPG, his lowest scoring mark since 2011/12, shooting a career-low 36.5% from the field.

“I try to play defense and be an unselfish teammate,” Conley said of his fit when he returns to the floor for the Jazz. “I think it will be easy to conform to what we’ve got going and try to elevate it as much as I can.”

Conley is in the fourth year of a five-year, $153MM contract he inked with the Grizzlies in 2016. He has a $34.5MM early termination option for the 2020/21 season. Given his recent decline with the Jazz, it is probable that he will opt in for the final year.

Utah’s Brass Discusses Jordan Clarkson Trade

December 28th, 2019 at 12:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Jazz made the first trade of the NBA season, sending Dante Exum and a pair of second-rounders to the Cavs for Jordan Clarkson. VP of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said the Jazz needed to make the move to add depth to the team, as Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune relays.

“We could feel that the starters were being stretched. … As the team started to form, we started to see some of the challenges that we had scoring with the second unit,” Lindsey said. “It certainly became a priority.”

The executive added that he thought depth may be an issue when the team lost several veterans, including Derrick Favors and Jae Crowder, this offseason. Utah’s bench was a major strength last season, but the franchise went into this year with an improved starting unit at the expense of depth.

Exum’s injury history and Mike Conley’s current hamstring woes also played a role in the deal.

“That timing dictated where we’re at. The one piece of the evaluation that we feel like is incomplete is, obviously, getting Mike integrated in, with now two hamstring injuries,” Lindsey said. “You know, we feel like there was a little bit of a gap in knowing who we really are and our arc for improvement. But we still felt like the bench scoring was so challenged that we needed to address it. … When Mike got hurt, we had to kind of speed up the evaluation and become a little bit urgent.”

While Conley’s injuries created a short-term need for an additional playmaker, GM Justin Zanik emphasized that the team was going to need to be deeper regardless.

“It still doesn’t change the fact that the bench needed to up the production, and we needed to see if there were other avenues to address that,” Zanik said.

Mike Conley To Miss More Time With Hamstring Injury

December 18th, 2019 at 12:48pm CST by Luke Adams

After missing five games with a left hamstring injury, Jazz point guard Mike Conley returned to action on Tuesday, but logged just 19 minutes before re-aggravating the injury and exiting the game. According to Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic (Twitter links), Conley’s hamstring issue is expected to sideline him once again going forward.

League sources tell The Athletic that Conley will at least miss multiple games. The Jazz will evaluate the injury on a day-to-day basis, but there’s a chance the veteran guard could be on the shelf for multiple weeks, according to Charania and Jones.

Conley, 32, has gotten off to a slow start in his first year in Utah. While his 36.0% rate on three-pointers is about in line with his career numbers, he’s making just 36.9% of his two-point attempts, easily a career worst. His 13.6 PPG also represent his lowest average since 2011/12.

In Conley’s absence, Utah inserted Joe Ingles into its starting lineup, giving Ingles and Donovan Mitchell the opportunity to share ball-handling duties. Ingles remained in the starting five when Conley returned on Tuesday, with Royce O’Neale returning to the bench — both players will likely start with Conley out again. Emmanuel Mudiay should also see regular minutes, with Dante Exum and Nigel Williams-Goss in the mix as emergency options.

And-Ones: Scola, Aldridge, 2020 Draft, Delgado

December 3rd, 2019 at 10:47pm CST by Luke Adams

Luis Scola, who continues to play overseas with Italy’s Olimpia Milano, hasn’t played in the NBA since the 2016/17 season and the 39-year-old sounds pretty confident that a comeback isn’t happening. As he explains to Marc Stein of The New York Times, even the younger version of himself would have a hard time keeping up in today’s version of the NBA, with its faster pace and lack of low-post play.

“The good teams, they have better players. The bad teams, they have younger players. I just don’t think I am at that level anymore,” Scola said. “I was there at some point. But the game changed also. It would be more difficult for me to play, even at my prime, in today’s NBA.”

“I got a little bit lucky,” he continued. “The big change happened right at the end of my career, and I was able to play until I was 37. The low-post game is not there anymore. The long two are not there. I would adjust a little bit and be a different player, but I think this would be a little bit more difficult. The game is faster. The players move faster. They’re more athletic, longer. And I’m not a very good athlete. Those things would be against me in today’s NBA.”

While Scola recognizes a return to the NBA isn’t in the cards, he’s pleased about Argentina’s performance at this year’s World Cup, which secured the team a spot in the 2020 Olympics. Participating in those Olympics had been a major goal for Scola, which is one reason he has pushed to continue his professional career, as he tells Stein.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

Frank Urbina and Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype spoke to NBA executives to try to gauge what LaMarcus Aldridge‘s trade value might be if the Spurs decide to become sellers. Various execs identified the Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Suns, and Kings as possible fits.
The general feeling among NBA teams about the top of the 2020 draft class remains “lukewarm,” according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com, who explores how LaMelo’s stellar NBL play is becoming harder to ignore as teams consider next spring’s top prospects.
Former Seton Hall standout and Clippers two-way player Angel Delgado has signed Israeli team Hapoel Holon, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Delgado, who appeared in two games for the Clips last season, spent time with the Beijing Royal Fighters earlier this year before being replaced by former NBA big man Jason Thompson.
Mike Conley is looking for the same kind of experience with the Jazz that his longtime Grizzlies teammate Marc Gasol had last season in Toronto, writes Eric Koreen of The Athletic. Conley said he called Gasol on FaceTime shortly after the Raptors won the 2019 title. “Man, I watched every game and was rooting and hoping and praying,” Conley said. “… We were talking about that thing all our career, having an experience like that for himself is, just happy for him.”

Northwest Notes: Ingles, Towns, Nuggets, Jones, Conley

November 7th, 2019 at 10:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz forward Joe Ingles has sought advice from San Antonio’s Patty Miles and New Orleans’ J.J. Redick as he adjusts to a sixth-man role, Aaron Falk of the team’s website reports. “It’s been a few years since I’ve come off the bench,” Ingles said. “I’m just figuring out different ways, what they do, their routines. If there’s anything I can steal or use to help our team win games, I’m going to do it.” Ingles is off to a slow start in his new role, averaging 7.6 PPG and 3.4 APG with a .400 FG%.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns has no regrets about his scrap with Joel Embiid that resulted in a two-game suspension, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic tweets. “Listen I’m going to defend myself. I ain’t going to take nothing,” he said. “That’s a very … talented player. I just had to defend myself in that situation.”
The Nuggets are getting an average of 36.7 points from their bench, putting them in the middle of the pack in the league, but forward Will Barton says they’re way better than that, Kyle Fredrickson of the Denver Post relays. “We’ve got the best bench in the league when we’re clicking on all cylinders,” Barton said.
Tyus Jones was grateful he had the chance to play for his hometown team, Chris Hine of the Minneapolis Star Tribune relays. Jones grew up in Minnesota and played four seasons for the Timberwolves. He signed a three-year offer sheet with the Grizzlies this offseason and Minnesota declined to match it. “Last year it was like, ‘Man, I might not get this chance again to play for my hometown team.’ … It was just a cool experience, something I’m grateful for because not everyone gets to do something like that. It’s pretty unique and pretty cool,” the point guard said.
Mike Conley is going through a bigger adjustment than anticipated, as the Jazz guard told Sam Amick of The Athletic. “It’s kind of a little bit out of my routine because I’ve had to watch more film on us than I can on the other teams because I’m still learning. … I’ve got a big guy now (in Rudy Gobert) who can go get it. I can throw pocket passes, but it’s a little different. We’ve got lob threats and shooters around. You’re just trying to figure out where guys like to come off screens, and which hand, and then just remembering the terminology,” he said. Conley, who was traded by the Grizzlies over the summer, is making a combined $67MM this season and next season.

Northwest Notes: Grant, Conley, Olson, Gasol

October 4th, 2019 at 9:57pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jerami Grant is expected to start the season as the Nuggets’ backup power forward but he’ll also see time at center, Mike Singer of the Denver Post reports. Grant was traded by the Thunder to Denver for a first-round pick.

“I think Jerami Grant can play (center),” Nuggets head coach Michael Malone said. “Jerami’s ability to screen and roll, finish around the basket, catch passes in traffic and make plays from that, he’s really, really good in that regard.”

A small-ball lineup with Grant at center would cut into Mason Plumlee’s minutes in the Nuggets’ frontcourt, Singer notes.

We have more from the Northwest Division:

Mike Conley has asserted himself as a team leader in the first week of the Jazz’s camp, Eric Walden of the Salt Lake Tribune writes. Utah is hoping that the longtime Grizzlies point guard will be the player that pushes the franchise to new heights. Memphis traded Conley to Utah in a multi-player deal. “It’s unusual that you trust a player so quickly, but he’s earned that,” coach Quin Snyder said. “That’s who he is.”
The Jazz have named Jim Olson president of the franchise and Larry H. Miller Sports & Entertainment (LHMSE), according to a team press release. Olson, who has been in the organization for 25 years, had been the executive vice president for LHMSE and president of Vivint Smart Home Arena. He’ll oversee the day-to-day business operations of the Jazz.
Pau Gasol has embraced a mentoring role with the Trail Blazers, according to an Associated Press report. Gasol, who signed a one-year deal to join Portland, is hopeful to be ready by opening night as he rehabs from foot surgery but he’s asserting himself in camp in other ways. “I hope to add leadership on and off the court, experience and also quality of play,” he said. “I’m excited after a difficult health year, frustrating. I’m excited to just work on my body and be healthy so I can do what I do on the floor and just have fun with the guys and compete, and play as hard as I can.”