Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley signed the largest contract in NBA history last summer when he re-signed in Memphis on a five-year, $152 million deal. For a player that had never so much as made an All-Star team, many were stunned by the sticker price on Conley’s deal — which will soon be eclipsed once free agency rolls around this year — but Conley managed to handle his new deal and post a career year in 2016-17.
Conley posted career-bests in points per game (20.5), rebounds per game (3.5), field goal percentage (46 percent), three-point percentage (40.8 percent), effective field goal percentage (54.5 percent), offensive rating (121), and assist percentage (34.5 percent). Conley was even better in the Grizzlies’ first round playoff series against the Spurs, averaging 24.7 points and 7.0 assists per game on a 56.8 percent effective field goal percentage.
Teams have long been told to be cautious of what a player does in their “contract year” — the season before a player hits free agency. There’s plenty of motivation to play your best when millions are on the line, but few players manage to continue improving after inking a massive deal. For some, Conley will never live up to his deal and he’s made peace with that, but after last year you’d be hard pressed to find anyone in Memphis upset with the Grizzlies shelling out the big bucks to keep Conley around.
Conley spoke with DIME Magazine ahead of this year’s free agency about his whirlwind year since inking his massive deal, tell us what the final days of June and first days of July are like as a top free agent, Marc Gasol, his work with Be The Match bone marrow donation organization, what Memphis needs to do this summer, his approach to defending the MVP finalists, and give us his MVP pick.
You put up career-best numbers on offense last year. Is there anything you can point to as to what led to your uptick in production?
I think for me, personally, Coach Fizdale and his system coming in, wanting to open up space a little bit more for me and play a lot more pick-and-rolls and play a tad bit faster really allowed me to utilize what I’m really good at. Stuff that I hadn’t been able to do throughout my career, I was able to finally have that responsibility. So, knowing that change was coming in the summer, I really worked on my game. Really worked on my outside shot and all facets of my game offensively and defensively to get prepared for it, and I think that played a part.
When you get into your eighth, ninth, tenth years in the league, how do you go about approaching the summer and still finding ways to improve your game into your veteran years?
It’s interesting, as each year goes on I can find something in my game to improve, and later in your years it becomes more apparent that your health is key and your body is key. So, as I got in my seventh, eighth, ninth, and now my tenth year, it was all about conditioning and my body and being healthy and being strong. All those things help me perform and help me be able to compete every night against the best. I think the skills, at this point in your career, you either have them or you don’t. Luckily, I’ve built up enough foundation to where I feel like I have it all, so I just continue to refine those, sharpen them a little bit, and continue to get my body in better shape.
On top of just wanting to keep your body in better shape as a veteran, compared to when you started in the league, the game has sped up and the pace is significantly higher in games. Is that something that you have to keep in mind with the likes of Golden State and Houston that really run and put more of a focal point on the conditioning than maybe it was when you first started in the league?
Yeah, I think you understand that all these teams nowadays aren’t getting any slower. They’re actually speeding up every year and games are getting faster. We’re getting older as players and these young guys are coming in with the same energy we had at 19 or 20, so it’s just a thing that you understand. In order to keep up, you have to adapt and continue to progress in that manner. I think that’s what all players that have been in this league are doing. They’re all adapting, becoming three-point shooters and spacing the floor and getting in better shape. We all have to kind of jump on board with where the league is going.
After signing your new max deal last year, did you feel any added pressure to produce at a higher level and how did you go about handling that?
I think it was easier than a lot of people think. It was a season where I knew I was coming in with more responsibility, more than anything. Not necessarily about the dollar amount, just knowing that as a player I would be doing more. And, as a player, I was excited about that opportunity and excited to show people what I could do. I came in thinking that in the public’s eye I’d probably never have a good game and never play good enough to that contract, so I’m not going to worry about what other people think and just worry about what I can do to help the team win. When I thought about it that way, it eased a lot of the pressure and eased a lot of the thought about the contract and really worried about basketball.
We’re approaching free agency pretty rapidly. Having been in their shoes last year, can you take us through the decision-making process for the top free agents and what it’s like leading up to July 1 and then that first night as you’re figuring out where you’ll set up meetings and the conversations you have internally with your circle and externally with the teams?
It’s a lot of tension during this time. You’re just waiting and waiting until July 1, knowing that you’re catching rumors about this team or that team that’s interested and not really knowing what teams are going to put on the table for you and what your team that you’ve been with will put on the table for you because you can’t really speak about it or talk about it. You’re kinda in the unknown and waiting around for that day to come.
And when that day comes, I mean, as soon as each team is allowed to call, your phone blows up. It happens really quickly, like in the first minute you’ll get a bunch of calls from all the teams that are interested. From that point on, it’s a rat race. You see guys just getting signed left and right and knowing that you’re one of the guys that’ll be coming up soon. It’s a decision that, I wouldn’t say it’s tough, per se, it’s a fun opportunity for a lot of these guys, but it can be stressful not knowing where you’re going to be playing and what team you’re going to be with.
For you, what were the conversations like with family and friends that helped guide you to your decision?
You do have to rely on people around you in your circle at this time of the year. When they help you to just understand to weigh every option and weigh every situation. The pros and cons of staying. The pros and cons of leaving. Which outweighs one or the other, and for me, for Memphis it was pretty much a no-brainer. That’s my family down there, basically all the guys that grew up with me in this league. We’ve seen a lot together and with that city we’ve seen a lot together. That’s home. Those are the things that weighed on me more than the money aspect. The loyalty that I had to my team and the city, and just the pride I took in bringing excitement to that city and hopefully something special in the future.
One of those guys you’ve grown up with is Marc Gasol — I think it’s now eight or nine years now you’ve been together. How important has that relationship on and off the court been for you over your career and what does having someone as versatile as Gasol is on both ends do for you as a point guard?
Having a guy like him has made my life a whole lot easier. He’s, I think, the best big in the league, and his ability to create plays for others and be unselfish, to shoot the ball from deep. He creates so much space for everybody and is such a smart player. He’s a great defender that can cover up a lot of your deficiencies and a lot of the mistakes you may make on the court with his IQ. It’s fun to be a part of his growth and play alongside each other for so long, and hopefully we can continue to do great things together and continue to make Memphis proud.
Over the years we’ve gotten to know one of Marc and Pau’s passions off the court is working with children’s hospitals. You’re now working with Be The Match bone marrow donation organization for their Heritage Holds The Cure campaign. Can you explain what the campaign is looking to do, why you got involved, and how others can get involved?
I partnered with Be The Match on the Heritage Holds The Cure campaign to bring attention to the need of bone marrow donation for sickle cell and other blood related diseases. I have two cousins that have sickle cell so it’s very important for me that I try to do something for them and that I do something for our community.
I know that black and African-American donations are under-represented in the donation department [only 5 percent of all bone marrow donors at Be The Match identify as black or African-American], and we’re just trying to get the message out and try to raise awareness that as African-Americans, our heritage could hold the cure and this bone marrow donation could be the match for somebody and help save a life. The best way to do that and get the information is to go to www.HeritageHoldsTheCure.org and hopefully somebody becomes a donor and helps save a life.
We’ve seen a lot more in recent years, guys recognize their platform as NBA players and speaking out about causes their passionate for — whether it’s social activism or something like Be The Match — is that something you’ve taken notice of from stars around the league?
Yeah, I have noticed. Guys are taking the responsibility and using the platform that we have and are given to try and make change in different departments. Guys have things near and dear to their heart and things that are special to them that they want to change, and it’s great to see the guys really taking the initiative in fighting for something and using their voice and time and energy to help make change.
When you look across the Western Conference and see the Warriors, obviously they’re the gold standard right now, what do you think the Memphis Grizzlies have to do, either internally with who is there or externally in adding more this offseason, to be the team to dethrone them in the West?
I think we’ve always matched up well against the better teams, and we have to be healthy for one. We gotta get guys healthy and be strong coming into the next season. We have to keep developing our young guys. We have a lot of young guys that have talent and we’re looking forward to them expanding their roles and having a bigger impact this year. And the free agency situation, with four of our guys being free agents — Tony, Zach, JaMychal, Vince — how we can bring as many of them back as we can in the situation. But, it’s going to be an interesting summer, interesting season, and we’re looking forward to competing like we always do.
Being the point guard you draw some incredibly difficult defensive matchups an awful lot in the West. Specifically with regards to the two MVP candidates you face in Harden and Westbrook, can you take us inside what your approach is when you face those two?
When you approach them, I think, you can’t focus too much attention solely on defense. I think you have to try to attack them as well. You have to make them work on the defensive end as well. They do hold so much of the workload for their teams, that if you can just try to wear into their legs at all and make them do a little bit more than what they want to do defensively, that’s going to help a little bit. Because they’re going to score, they’re going to do what they do. They’re high volume guys and they’re going to make plays. You just have to hope that you can turn them into contested shots and contested opportunities to get as many stops as you can.
You played against all three MVP finalists, if you had been given a vote, who would it have gone to?
I think I would go with Russell Westbrook. The fact that he put up the numbers that he did, averaging a triple-double for a year is unbelievable. I never thought I’d see it in the league. So, I think that’s special and he should get rewarded for it.
One final thing. What’s the best trash talk you’ve heard from Z-Bo or Tony Allen?
[Laughs] Oh man, the best trash talk I’ve heard from them is probably something I can’t repeat, to be honest with you. Tony doesn’t talk as much trash, he’s just intimidating. Z-Bo, he’ll get in your face every once in awhile if it gets physical and definitely get at you a little bit.
