Mike Conley On the block (expiring contract, and first rounder)

[Who]

Hopefully, this means that Memphis feels OJ Mayo's long term future is as point guard. I'll be very happy about this trade if that is the case and a lot more optimistic about the Grizzlies' future and ability to field a Championship caliber team down the road.

[Change]

So they are basically saying the Mike Conley experiment is OVER! They came with this conclusion 8months after they drafted Hasheem Thabeet. They missed on great prospects Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, Brandon Jennings, Stephen Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan..... Conely was supposed to be their franchise PG. Another Mike Wallace poop job.

[KCattheStripe]

So they are basically saying the Mike Conley experiment is OVER! They came with this conclusion 8months after they drafted Hasheem Thabeet. They missed on great prospects Tyreke Evans, Jonny Flynn, Brandon Jennings, Stephen Curry, James Harden, DeMar DeRozan..... Conely was supposed to be their franchise PG. Another Mike Wallace poop job.

Or they believe Mayo is their franchise PG.

[Brickowski]

If Mayo becomes their pg they will start losing.  Trading Conley is really dumb.

[Change]

Or they believe Mayo is their franchise PG.

Having watched some Grizzlies games, OJ is no PG. When called upon he can pretend to be a PG. But his natural position is an undersized SG. He is a natural scorer. If They moves OJ to PG postion, They'll take away a large portion of his game.

[paintitgreen]

Absolutely, I'd be very happy to have Mike Conley here.

I don't believe the initial report though. I can see Memphis trading Conley but for talent not cap flexibility. This is the same that has been willing to part with one of their first round draft picks for a rental of a good reserve player. Not a rebuilding team but a team that is looking to maximize their talent base for a run at the playoffs. Trading Conley for cap flexibility doesn't add up.

Possibly the Grizzlies are looking for cap room in order to solidify the resigning of Rudy Gay next summer.

Memphis only has $47 million on the payroll prior to re-signing Rudy Gay. They can easily afford him without making a salary dump and without getting anywhere close to the luxury tax threshold. It's not a factor.

I stand corrected.

Money is of course a factor, with every team, whether they're over the luxury tax or under the cap. Teams aren't making money. I'd say Memphis is toward the top of that list, even with their surprising success this year and relatively low payroll. THey don't have fans. You need to have fans to make money. The Lakers, Knicks, Celtics, teams like that, can pay twice as much in salary and make more of (or closer to) a profit because of their fan bases and ability to sell tickets and television rights. Memphis doesn't have that luxury. They have to keep things relatively cheap no matter what. So when there's a big increase in expenses next year via a Rudy Gay extension, they have to cut some costs, regardless of whether they're still under the cap.

And look, maybe they just figure they can get a player in the middle of this year's draft who contributes as much as Conley does, and that player will be far cheaper since he'll have a much lower salary slot than what Conley does at this stage in his career.

This is irrelevant to the Celtics as far as I can see, but I could easily understand Memphis cutting salary if a player's not performing up to what they're paying him, regardless of their overall salary level or the player's salary level.

[Lucky17]

Bogus report, or Memphis is backpedaling:

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/feb/18/grizzlies-postgame-griz-versus-raptors/

Barring a dramatic change in developments, Memphis isn't seriously fielding offers for point guard Mike Conley on the eve of the trade deadline. Sources contradicted an ESPN.com report that the Griz considered moving Conley for cap relief and a first-round pick.

The Griz passed on at least one deal involving Conley. Portland approached Memphis about swapping Conley for Steve Blake. The Griz considered the deal because Blake is in the final year of a deal that pays $4.9 million.

[jdub1660]

as an osu alum...

I've been on Csblog for too long today and getting bleary-eyed. When i saw this quote above, i thought for a second it was some Arabic greeting. I gotta take a break!

Glad I'm not the only one. I had to read your post and the OP multiple times before I got it...time for bed. Cya after the deadline with a disappointment that I stayed up late hoping to see a blockbuster in Boston...