Mike Conley Agrees To 5-Year, $153 Million Deal With Memphis Grizzlies
Mike Conley has agreed to re-sign with the Memphis Grizzlies in the richest max deal of 2016 NBA free agency (so far).
The Memphis Grizzlies have been extremely active in free agency so far in 2016. After agreeing to a four-year max deal with Chandler Parsons, USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick reported the Grizzlies were finalizing an agreement with their point guard of the last nine years, Mike Conley.
The deal was later confirmed by multiple reports.
More from Memphis Grizzlies
- NBA Trades: Memphis bolsters their roster in this deal with Toronto
- 3 ways acquiring Marcus Smart will improve the Memphis Grizzlies
- Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title
- 4 Memphis Grizzlies who must step up in Ja Morant’s absence
- NBA Rumors: Is a season-long suspension for Ja Morant on the table?
Although it may seem crazy that Conley has agreed to the richest contract in NBA history, it makes sense. Obviously the salary cap rise is going to lead to bigger contracts and it just so happens that Conley, one of the best point guards in the NBA today, is one of the biggest beneficiaries.
Inevitably there will be others who follow suit, but for now, the seemingly always underrated Mike Conley can say he has the richest annual contract ever (for now). Is it a ton of money? Sure. Was it necessary? Absolutely.
If the Grizzlies didn’t sign Conley to this deal, someone else would have. The Memphis floor general averaged 15.3 points, 6.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game last season.
Those numbers may not blow you away, but when a guy is consistently putting up those numbers year after year, the deal starts to make sense. Conley’s career averages are 13.6 points, 5.6 assists, and 1.5 steals over his nine-year career.
This deal proves Memphis is really making an effort to improve this offseason. The agreement means they have spent $247 million on two players so far. For a team that doesn’t usually make headlines for their free agent activity, this is certainly a welcome sign for Grizzlies fans.
Suddenly, things are looking very good for a team who could have easily ended up having a down year this coming season.
Live Feed
Beale Street Bears
The reason a down season was in play is the simple fact that Chandler Parsons was not expected to end up on the Grizzlies. Heading into free agency, people didn’t necessarily expect Memphis to make a splash with anyone other than Conley, and there was no guarantee he would return either.
If that ended up being the case, they would be looking at a team spearheaded by just Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph. But once the Grizzlies got Parsons on board, all the pieces fell into place.
The Grizzlies now have the trio of Mike Conley, Chandler Parsons and Marc Gasol all locked up for at least the next four years. Parsons in particular could make this trio deadly since he will immediately come in and be their best perimeter shooter after knocking down threes at a 41 percent clip last year. He will undoubtedly fill any void left by Courtney Lee (who was dealt at last year’s trade deadline) and then some.
Although the front office has doled out a large chunk of change this offseason, it’s tough to argue with the star power they’re going to have for the next four seasons. The concern with big contracts like Conley’s is usually the team’s ability to build around them, but when there are so many good supporting actors around him already, this becomes less of an issue.
More hoops habit: Kevin Durant's Free Agency Destination Power Rankings
Whether or not you think Conley deserves all the money he’s getting, it’s hard to fault Memphis for locking up their top player. The Grizzlies are a perennial playoff team and this team has all but ensured they’re going to stay that way.