Mike Conley Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Rumors: Conley, Randolph, Spurs

November 3rd, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Mike Conley is already getting targeted by opposing fans over the five-year, $152.6MM contract he signed with the Grizzlies this offseason, Mitch Lawrence of the Sporting News reports. The Grizzlies point guard knows the unwanted attention comes with signing such a big contract but he’s taking it in stride, Lawrence continues. “It doesn’t bother me at all,” Conley told Lawrence. “When I hear the talk, when I look on my phone and see messages on Twitter about it, it really pushes me, to be honest. … I almost look forward to playing on the road, for that very reason.” Conley used an offer by the Mavericks as leverage and ended up with an extra $40MM, Lawrence adds.

In other news around the Southwest Division:

New Grizzlies coach David Fizdale gave Zach Randolph a detailed explanation of why he wanted the veteran power forward to come off the bench this season, according to Michael Scotto of Basketball Insiders. Fizdale was looking for another scorer on the second unit, Scotto continues. “He explained to me what he wanted to do and have more firepower coming off the bench,” Randolph told Scotto. “He needed me to play that role so I said, ‘Okay.’ I took it with a grain of salt, kept it moving, whatever you want me to do.” Randolph is making $10.36MM in the final year of his contract and Scotto anticipates Randolph will land another eight-figure salary when he enters unrestricted free agency.
The Spurs found themselves a bargain in free agency with the addition of center Dewayne Dedmon, Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer opines. Dedmon was signed to a two-year, $6MM to help replace Tim Duncan and he has delivered, averaging 5.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 17.1 minutes during the first five games. Dedmon’s skills as a rim runner, rebounder and shotblocker will prove useful when San Antonio reaches the postseason, Tjarks adds.
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich doesn’t feel like his organization fleeced the Pacers with their 2011 draft night trade in which they landed Kawhi Leonard while shipping out point guard George Hill, Michael C. Wright of ESPN.com relays. San Antonio wound up with a franchise player but Hill had productive years with Indiana before he was traded to the Jazz this offseason. “It was what Indiana needed, and it was what we needed, and it worked out,” Popovich told Wright. “A lot of trades, one team will say, ‘Oh, we killed them on that trade. We got the better end of that.’ That’s just childish. It was a good trade for both teams.”

Pacific Notes: Price, Warren, Speights, Lakers

October 29th, 2016 at 9:47pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Suns have offered veteran guard Ronnie Price an assistant coaching position, tweets Brett Dawson of The Oklahoman. Price was waived Monday by the Thunder even though he had a fully guaranteed two-year, $5MM contract. The 33-year-old played 62 games for Phoenix last season, starting 18 times. Suns coach Earl Watson confirmed the offer, but said Price isn’t ready to end his playing career.

There’s more news from the Pacific Division:

After two injury-filled half seasons, Suns small forward T.J. Warren is off to a strong start to 2016/17, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. Warren scored 30 points Friday night in an overtime loss to the Thunder, going 8 for 8 on a variety of mid-range shots. “He gets buckets; ‘Tony Buckets’ is his name,” said teammate Eric Bledsoe. “He played not only great offense, but great defense too. He carried us.” The Suns exercised their 2017/18 option on Warren on Monday.
The Clippers are counting on big man Marreese Speights to boost their bench scoring and maybe even change the balance of power in the West, relays Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. The former Warrior signed a two-year, minimum-salary deal with L.A. over the summer. “(He’s) just another scorer,” said coach/executive Doc Rivers. “I don’t think anyone has a guy like that on their bench, for that matter. Golden State had one last year, and now he’s on our team. But there’s not a lot of fives that can do what Mo does as far as offensively shoot the three. There are some, but Mo also has a post game as well.” Speights has a player option on the second year of his new deal, so he could be in line for a raise if he has a productive season.
The Lakers hope to be more appealing to free agents by the time California natives Russell Westbrook and Paul George become available in two years, writes Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical. Over the summer, L.A. was turned down for meetings by Kevin Durant, Mike Conley and Hassan Whiteside.

Contract Details: Conley, Jefferson, Speights

July 18th, 2016 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders has updated many of the team-by-team salary pages at Basketball Insiders with new information, and while it’s worth checking out the full breakdown for your favorite team, we have a few noteworthy items from the latest series of updates to pass along. Let’s dive in…

Mike Conley‘s five-year max deal with the Grizzlies includes an early termination option for the fifth year, which essentially functions like a player option. If Conley choose to waive that ETO and opts into the final year of his contract, his $34.5MM salary would be guaranteed for $22.427MM. However, if Conley plays in at least 55 games in either 2018/19 or 2019/20, that salary becomes fully guaranteed.
The third year of Al Jefferson‘s three-year contract with the Pacers is only partially guaranteed. The team currently owes him $4MM for the 2018/19 season, but if he stays on the roster, he’d earn his full $10MM salary.
Marreese Speights‘ minimum-salary deal with the Clippers is for two years, not just one. However, Speights has a player option on that second year, so he’ll likely opt out if he has a good year in Los Angeles.
Deron Williams‘ one-year contract with the Mavericks is actually worth $9MM rather than $10MM on the cap, though he has $1MM in unlikely incentives.
Dorian Finney-Smith, Jonathan Gibson, and Nicolas Brussino all got nearly-identical three-year, minimum-salary deals from the Mavericks. Gibson is the only one whose first year is fully guaranteed though — Finney-Smith and Brussino will start with just $100K guaranteed apiece.
When Paul Zipser‘s agent announced his rookie contract with the Bulls, he said it featured two guaranteed years. There’s also a third year on that pact worth the minimum salary that’s not fully guaranteed.

Grizzlies Sign Mike Conley To Five-Year Deal

July 14th, 2016 at 3:13pm CST by ChrisCrouse

JULY 14th, 3:13pm: The signing is official, the team announced.

JULY 1st, 6:00pm: The Grizzlies and Mike Conley have agreed to a max contract that will pay the point guard $153MM over the next five seasons, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). The deal will be the largest in league history.

Stein previously reported that Conley and the Grizzlies would have an agreement in place by Saturday morning. Memphis was Conley’s likely landing spot all along, but the point guard had concerns about the team’s roster and wanted to see the front office be aggressive in its attempts to upgrade it. The team’s chances of re-signing the 28-year-old likely increased as a result of signing Chandler Parsons, as the duo reportedly spoken to one another about teaming up in Memphis.

The Mavericks appeared to be Memphis’ biggest threat in the Conley sweepstakes, but after Hassan Whiteside re-signed with Miami, it seemed unlikely that the Ohio State product would wind up in Dallas. The Rockets, Pelicans, Nets and Lakers were also identified as challengers to steal Conley away from the Grizzlies. All five teams will have to look elsewhere for a point guard in free agency.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Grizzlies To Offer Five-Year Max To Mike Conley

July 1st, 2016 at 4:53pm CST by Luke Adams

As they attempt to re-sign veteran point guard Mike Conley, the Grizzlies are prepared to put a full five-year, maximum-salary contract offer on the table, reports Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. It’s not clear whether that fifth year would be fully guaranteed, but even a partial guarantee would make Memphis’ offer to Conley much more lucrative than what any other team could give him. Multiple sources expect the Grizzlies and Conley to have an agreement in place by Saturday morning, tweets ESPN’s Marc Stein.

A Thursday report indicated that Conley’s decision would likely come down to the Grizzlies and the Mavericks, who got an opportunity to meet with the 28-year-old earlier today. Sam Amick of USA Today wrote that the threat Dallas poised to Memphis may be “nominal,” and the Grizzlies likely increased their chances of retaining Conley by reaching a long-term agreement with Chandler Parsons.

Multiple reports in recent weeks had suggested that Conley wanted to see signs from the Grizzlies that they were willing to be aggressive when it came to upgrading and fortifying their roster. He and Parsons have also reportedly spoken to one another about teaming up in Memphis. With Parsons expected to sign with the Grizzlies, and a five-year offer on the table for Conley, it’s hard to imagine the point guard leaving.

The Mavericks, meanwhile, headed into free agency having identified Conley and Hassan Whiteside as their top priorities. With Whiteside returning to Miami, and Conley appearing increasingly likely to re-sign with the Grizzlies, Dallas may soon have to move on to secondary targets.

Free Agent Notes: Parsons, Conley, Lin, Smith

July 1st, 2016 at 10:12am CST by Arthur Hill

Free agents Mike Conley and Chandler Parsons have talked several times about teaming up in Memphis, posts Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Parsons, who already has a maximum offer on the table from the Blazers, will meet with Grizzlies officials later today in Los Angeles. Conley has a meeting scheduled with the Mavericks, but MacMahon says Conley and Parsons haven’t talked about becoming teammates in Dallas.

There’s more news on the first day of free agency:

The Pelicans could have signed point guard Jeremy Lin, but weren’t willing to give him more than $10MM per season, tweets Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com. Lin agreed to a deal with the Nets this morning for $36MM over three years.
Ish Smith, who agreed to terms with the Pistons early this morning, felt slighted that the Sixers waited so long to call him, tweets Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. The team didn’t reach out to Smith until 3:30 a.m., and by that time he had decided to go to Detroit.
With more than $60MM to spend, the Sixers are targeting guards as free agency begins, tweets Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders. He names the Thunder’s Dion Waiters, the Clippers‘ Jamal Crawford and the Blazers‘ Allen Crabbe as players that Philadelphia has interest in.
The Suns have guaranteed P.J. Tucker‘s salary for next season, writes Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic. The 31-year-old small forward will receive $5.3MM in 2016/17. He only had a partial guarantee of $1.5MM before Thursday.
The Wolves have contacted Bulls free agent guard E’Twaun Moore, tweets Darren Wolfson of 5 Eyewitness News in Minneapolis. Moore averaged 7.5 points and 1.7 assists in 59 games this season.
Several teams are expected to pursue Blazers restricted free agent Maurice Harkless, posts Marc Spears on ESPN Now. A source tells Spears that the Wizards, Pistons, Lakers, Mavericks and Jazz are all interested.

Latest On Mike Conley

June 30th, 2016 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Mike Conley will have up to five outside suitors willing to offer him a maximum-salary contract when free agency opens late tonight, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who identifies the Mavericks, Rockets, Pelicans, Nets, and Lakers as the key challengers for the Grizzlies.

However, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), even though the veteran point guard is scheduled to meet with the Mavs on Friday, the Grizzlies remain in “very good position” in the Conley sweepstakes. Amick reports (via Twitter) that Dallas appears to pose the most significant threat to Memphis for Conley, but even that threat may prove to be “a nominal one.” The Rockets, meanwhile, aren’t expected to get a meeting with Conley at all, a source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.

If the Grizzlies do indeed remain comfortably in the driver’s seat, despite the fact that the Mavericks and other teams are willing to put max offers on the table for Conley, it may be an indication that Memphis is willing to add a fifth year to its offer. Since the Grizzlies hold Conley’s Bird Rights, they’re the only club with the ability to offer a five-year deal, and that fifth year would be worth well over $30MM in the point guard’s age-33 season.

There have also been reports suggesting that Conley wanted assurances from the Grizzlies that they would be aggressive in fortifying the roster around him, in order to remain a contender for the foreseeable future. If he ends up agreeing to re-sign with the team, he likely will have received such assurances.

Assuming Conley and the Grizzlies can work out a deal, the two sides likely won’t finalize anything right away. The team can make better use of its cap room by keeping Conley’s $14MM cap hold on the books, using all its cap space, then going over the cap to lock up Conley.

Mavs Meeting With Conley, Whiteside On July 1

June 30th, 2016 at 8:18am CST by Luke Adams

The Mavericks have July 1st meetings lined up with their top two free agent targets, Mike Conley and Hassan Whiteside, according to reports. ESPN’s Chris Broussard writes that the Mavs will get a Friday meeting with Conley, while ESPN’s Tim MacMahon said in a radio interview that Dallas will be getting the first meeting with Whiteside (hat tip to HeatNation.com).

Within that same interview, MacMahon suggests that the Mavericks will “absolutely” put a maximum-salary offer on the table for Whiteside. The Heat have the space to make such an offer as well, but reports have indicated that not all members of Miami’s front office are sold on the idea of a max deal for Whiteside.

Meanwhile, the Grizzlies believe they will hold off all challengers for Conley and re-sign their starting point guard, according to Marc Stein of ESPN (Twitter link). However, Broussard writes that it’s not a foregone conclusion that Conley will return to Memphis. If the Grizzlies are reluctant to go beyond four years in their offer, it could open the door for rival suitors, per Broussard.

In addition to the Mavericks, the teams expected to pursue Conley include the Rockets, Pelicans, Nets, and Lakers, but those teams have yet to formally set up meetings, sources tell Broussard. Assuming Conley does meet with some or all of those clubs, he will likely meet with the Grizzlies last, giving them the opportunity to make the final pitch before he makes his decision.

As the Mavericks pursue Memphis’ starting point guard, the Grizzlies have their eye on a pending free agent from Dallas, according to Stein, who tweets that Memphis may try to sign Chandler Parsons. Parsons is reportedly seeking a max contract as well, so the Grizzlies would have to accommodate huge deals for both Conley and Parsons if they intend to sign both players, but it seems to be an option they’re considering.

Kyler’s Latest: Durant, Conley, Whiteside, Rondo

June 28th, 2016 at 11:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The prevailing wisdom heading into free agency has suggested that Kevin Durant is likely to sign a two-year contract with a second-year player option this summer. After all, opting out a year from now and signing a long-term deal at that point figures to be the best way for the star forward to maximize his earnings.

Still, we’ve heard whispers that Durant may prefer to simply sign a long-term pact now to avoid having free agency looming over him for another year, and Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders cites sources close to the former MVP who echo that sentiment. According to Kyler, Oklahoma City remains the frontrunner for Durant, but the free-agent-to-be will hear out and consider all his suitors, and could make a long-term commitment to the team he signs with, whether that’s the Thunder or another club.

Here’s more from Kyler on a few of this summer’s top free agents:

Mike Conley is expected to listen to some free agent pitches, but will likely give the Grizzlies the last word, writes Kyler. Conley would like to see Memphis be aggressive about adding talent to fortify the roster if he’s going to return. If the veteran point guard decides to go elsewhere, the Mavericks, Rockets, Spurs, and even the Nets are among his potential landing spots, per Kyler.
The Lakers, Mavericks, Celtics, and Hornets are some of the teams expected to make a push for Hassan Whiteside if the Heat waver on offering him a max contract, says Kyler.
Kyler identifies the Heat as a potential dark horse in the Al Horford sweepstakes, if Whiteside does leave Miami. Horford is believed to be the next target on the team’s wish list, and that interest may be mutual, Kyler writes.
There’s mutual interest between Rajon Rondo and the Nets, who could be the favorites to land the point guard. However, according to Kyler, Rondo wouldn’t want to be Brooklyn’s only high-profile addition this summer, so the Nets might have to make a commitment to another notable free agent if they hope to lure Rondo.
Dwight Howard could end up being a primary target this offseason for teams like the Bucks, Trail Blazers, and Hornets, who aren’t necessarily expected to get involved with many top-tier free agents, per Kyler. Sources close to Howard and the Magic indicate to Kyler that the odds of D12 returning to Orlando are slim, despite the fact that the team expects to be active on the open market.
Kyler adds the Lakers and Grizzlies to the list of teams with interest in Ryan Anderson, and notes that there’s mutual interest between Anderson and the Wizards. Sources also tell Kyler that Anderson would prefer to land with a playoff team.

FA Rumors: DeRozan, Biyombo, Nets, Noah, Kings

June 27th, 2016 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

With DeMar DeRozan and Bismack Biyombo facing free agency, the Raptors may not have the cap flexibility to bring back both players. However, according to Sam Amick of USA Today, Biyombo has “very real interest” in re-signing in Toronto, even if that includes waiting out DeRozan’s free agency and navigating cap challenges to make it all work.

Whether that will be a realistic outcome remains to be seen. Assuming the Raptors don’t trade any of their players, and the salary cap lands in the $94MM neighborhood, the team won’t be able to offer Biyombo anything close to the $15MM salary he may be able to land on the open market. Still, the 23-year-old center has indicated he’d be open to a “hometown discount” to remain in Toronto, and he doesn’t intend to rush into an agreement with another team when the free agent period opens.

As for DeRozan, he reportedly has no plans to meet with any teams besides the Raptors, and Amick suggests the All-Star guard may even be willing to accept a little less than the max from Toronto if it helps the team accommodate a new deal for Biyombo. If DeRozan does explore the market though, he’ll have no shortage of suitors. Amick lists the Clippers, Warriors, Heat, Knicks, and Magic as clubs with interest in DeRozan.

Here are a few more free agent rumors from around the NBA:

Despite trading veteran forward Thaddeus Young for a draft pick last week, the Nets don’t appear set to enter full rebuilding mode. Sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link) that the team has formed a plan to pursue multiple veteran free agents.
There’s strong mutual interest between Joakim Noah and the Knicks, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. A source tells Berman that Noah is eager to sit down with the Knicks once he reaches free agency.
Ryan Anderson and Courtney Lee are expected to be two of the Kings‘ top targets in free agency, according to James Ham of CSN California (link via Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk).
With July 1st around the corner, the Grizzlies are increasing their efforts to re-sign Mike Conley — the team published a video to its website dubbing Conley the team’s “conductor,” with minority owner Justin Timberlake and multiple Grizzlies players praising the point guard’s play in Memphis.