Another day, another conference-altering move out west.
Four days after the Los Angeles Lakers reportedly landed Anthony Davis, the Utah Jazz made a sizeable move of their own in hopes of legitimizing their championship aspirations. The Jazz acquired star point guard Mike Conley in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday, as first reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Here are the details of the deal, per Wojnarowski:
The trade makes sense for both sides. The Jazz needed to make a move in order to get over the hump in the West, and the addition of Conley is a great step in the right direction. Utah now will boast one of the stronger backcourts in the conference with Conley and Donovan Mitchell to go along with one of the league’s most dominant interior forces in Rudy Gobert. Given the uncertainty surrounding the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets, Utah could make some serious noise in the 2019-20 campaign.
The deal also fits into the Grizzlies’ plan to rebuild. Memphis kickstarted this mission last season when it shipped franchise cornerstone Marc Gasol to Toronto, and it wouldn’t have made much sense to keep Conley around, especially given his high price tag and impending free agency. The Grizzlies, who already feature one of the league’s brightest young talents in Jaren Jackson Jr., now own another first-round pick in Thursday’s night draft in addition the No. 2 overall selection, which is expected to convey into Ja Morant.
So much like the Davis deal, the reported Conley trade appears to be a win for both sides.
