A nightmare of a season for the Memphis Grizzlies has somehow managed to get even worse. The team announced in an email to season-ticket holders that Mike Conley, who has not played since mid-November due to an injury to his heel, needs to undergo surgery that will keep him out for the remainder of the season.
There is some good news, though: Conley is expected to make a full recovery from the injury that has limited him to only 12 games this season and should be fine once the 2018-19 campaign rolls around.
Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace announces in email moments ago to MVP season-ticket holders that Mike Conley will require season-ending surgery "to smooth a small bone protrusion" in his left heel. Conley is expected to make a full recovery ahead of training camp.
— Michael Wallace (@MyMikeCheck) January 27, 2018
Additionally, Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace explained that surgery is something of a last resort, as Conley and the team tried to explore other ways to solve this issue.
Grizz GM Chris Wallace to MVP season-ticket holders on Conley: "Mike has been extremely diligent as we pursued multiple different approaches to alleviate the pain before deciding surgery was the best solution."
— Michael Wallace (@MyMikeCheck) January 27, 2018
Conley averaged 17.1 points and 4.1 assists per game for Memphis this year. This was a strange injury, as the Grizzlies seemed like they anticipated that Conley could overcome the sore heel with treatment that didn’t require going under the knife — there were multiple announcements from the franchise that Conley would miss “at least two weeks” during his recovery process.
But in the end, Conley’s season came to as uneventful of an end as you could imagine, marking the latest in a line of strange and somewhat disappointing things to happen in Memphis during this campaign.
