According to reports, unrestricted free agent point guard Mike Conley has agreed to re-sign with the Memphis Grizzlies. His new contract will pay him his maximum $153 million over five years. The deal cannot officially be signed until the end of the NBA’s moratorium period on July 7th.
Marc Stein of ESPN broke the news on Friday evening:
Memphis and Mike Conley have agreed in principle on a five-year, $153 million deal, league sources say. Finer points "nearing conclusion."
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) July 1, 2016
Report: Mike Conley Agrees to Re-sign with Memphis Grizzlies
Conley’s contract will take him through the end of the 2020-21 season. No player or team options included in the deal have been disclosed yet.
After the Grizzlies managed to sign forward Chandler Parsons on Friday, it was reported that the signing of Conley would inevitably be next. The addition of Parsons and the return of starting center Marc Gasol from injury will form a nice core for Memphis, which was evidently enough to convince Conley to return.
Conley averaged 15.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game last season for the Grizzlies. His nightly points and steals averages have both declined in each of the last two seasons. Conley struggled with injuries throughout the 2015-16 season, playing in just 56 games – the lowest number since his rookie year. He missed all four of the Grizzlies’ games in their brief 2016 playoff run, watching from the sidelines as Memphis was swept by the San Antonio Spurs.
Looking forward, Conley will continue to provide stability as an unselfish playmaker and elite defender starting at point guard for the Grizzlies. Conley has been one of Memphis’s leaders for several years now, and he will continue to assume a leadership role along with his long-time Grizzlies teammates, Gasol and Zach Randolph. Memphis will need Conley to stay healthy and bounce back from last year’s struggles in order to contend for homecourt advantage in the 2017 playoffs, amid tough competition in the Western Conference.
Conley is going into his 10th season in the league, during which he’ll be 29 years old. He’s played his entire career in Memphis, after being drafted fourth overall by the Grizzlies in 2007. This contract will take Conley through the end of his prime years, and barring a trade or career-ending injury, he’ll end up playing the first 14 years of his career in Memphis. Conley, Gasol, Randolph, and shooting guard Tony Allen have made up the core of the Grindhouse for seven years now.
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