Mike Conley has always been perpetually under-appreciated throughout his career. It took a few seasons for him to really find his niche in the NBA as a member of a Memphis Grizzlies team that was trying to do the same, but through steady improvement, he helped comprise the Grit-n-Grind core that brought the organization and the city of Memphis back to relevance and respectability. Along the way, Conley established himself as a fringe All-Star candidate, but was never quite able to overcome the deep talent pool in the West.
That could potentially change this season, as Conley is playing some of the best basketball of his career while the Jazz stake out their claim as a viable contender. It would follow that Conley might try and parlay that into a bigger payday when he hits the free agent market this summer, but he quickly put that notion to rest, saying in no uncertain terms that he’s happy right where he is.
Via Tony Jones of The Athletic:
“Utah’s got me,” Conley said. “I was talking about this to my wife recently. We love it here. I don’t think I can go anywhere else that plays the way we play. We’ll see this offseason, because when that time comes there will definitely be a lot of chatter.
“But, from where I sit right now, this team is so unique, in the way we play. And everyone has bought into what we want to do on both ends of the floor.”
At 25-6 on the season, the Jazz hold the best record in the NBA and have won nine out of their last 10 games. Conley is averaging 16.4 points and 5.6 assists while shooting better than 41 percent from downtown.
