Memphis as an organization values continuity; they are not an organization that shakes things up willy-nilly.
Meaning it’s hard to imagine the Grizzlies trading their point guard Mike Conley at the trade deadline. Courtney Lee or Matt Barnes on the wing? That’s a possibility. But a core piece like Conley? Nope. Doesn’t matter that Conley can be a free agent this summer.
Still, the rumor is out there, and Matt Moore of CBSSports.com dealt with it well....there’s a natural push from folks to start talking about the Grizzlies needing to trade Conley prior to a forced rebuild, “so they don’t lose him and get nothing in return.”
This, at least according to every single person I’ve queried on the subject, is not the plan. Plans change and things shift very quickly in the NBA, but it’s at least not where Memphis intends to be....
“If you look back at the five years since the tide has turned for this franchise (since the 2011 playoff berth and the start of the “Grit-Grind” era),” (Grizzlies’ General Manager Chris) Wallace told CBS Sports this week, “we have re-signed every core player for the Memphis Grizzlies.”
Meaning, they intend to re-sign Mike Conley next summer. The Knicks among a number of other teams will make a run at Conley, but Moore reminds us that Conley spent last summer trying to recruit Marc Gasol to get him to stay in Memphis — it would be pretty cold to turn and bolt.
Conley is going to get max offers (which for him start at $18.9 million next season); the money isn’t the question. He may be tempted to look for potentially greener pastures. But in the end, Wallace is right that the Grizzlies don’t lose their own free agents if they want to keep them.
