Conley bribing Mike Miller?

[manl_lui]

we all know if Miller ends up in Memphis, it will be because of free golf 

[action781]

I'd like to know the monetary value of the golfing, I guess.  In general, though, I don't have a problem with it.

These guys are friends.  If Conley had said "dinner's on me if you sign", would it matter?  It's on the same spectrum.

Friends / teammates do each other solids all the time.  When KG first got here, he bought all the rookies expensive suits.  If the team was offering extra benefits, it's an issue.  With teammates, though, I think it's just part of the game.  The only difference between Conley and other players is that Conley was dumb enough to say it in public.

That's why I'm wondering "what is the line"?  I wonder if there is one.

I agree that it was really dumb of Conley to go public about it.  I think players probably say stuff like this sometimes and the issue of it being public is where I think this could be an issue.  I think it even *should* be an issue, because again... where's the line?  I mean even some small scale country clubs up here in Boston area have $10,000 annual membership costs.  I'm sure really nice ones that Mike Conley belongs to are considerably pricier.  If it's a $50,000 annual membership country club, whats the difference between that and offering the player housing in a $5000/month PH apartment that a player might own?

[staticcc]

Mikhail Prokhorov.

Andrei Kirilenko.

That is all.

That was all speculation. No proof. This is something that Conley himself said.

[Chris]

Here's the question.  Could this been seen as a legal contract?  Like, if Miller signs with the team, and Conley doesn't pay for golf, can Miller legally sue him?

If it is, then this would be a violation of the CBA.

[slamtheking]

I'm not a fan of this.  Reeks of player collusion to me which should be banned just as Team/Ownership collusion has been banned in the league

[guava_wrench]

Players shouldn't be doing that. It isn't hard to just not make statements like that. Wait until he is there to give him freebies.

If you are thinking, "what is the point of giving it to him after he made a decision", then there is a problem mentioning if before hand since you are using under the table benefits to recruit a player.

[jaketwice]

we all know if Miller ends up in Memphis, it will be because of free golf 

Exactly! Memphis is right up there with Coral Gables as one of the world's great golf hot-spots! People fly from around the world to come golf in scenic memphis. (FYI, when you do an image search for "Memphis golf" the first picture that comes up is a Volkswagen.)

[crownontherocks]

Mike Miller has notified the Grizzlies he's decided to sign with them, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

[Birdman]

heck players talk to players all the time...it shouldnt matter if conley did this..its his money

[KGs Knee]

Any actual evidence Conley said anything of the sort?  Stein reporting so does nothing for me, and is at best hearsay.

Unless Stein has some sort of concrete evidence (tape recording, email, tweet, etc.), I fail to see how the NBA could do anything, if they even wish to.

[Eja117]

There are a lot of guys signing for less money these days. Definitely makes you wonder.

[Roy H.]

Any actual evidence Conley said anything of the sort?  Stein reporting so does nothing for me, and is at best hearsay.

Unless Stein has some sort of concrete evidence (tape recording, email, tweet, etc.), I fail to see how the NBA could do anything, if they even wish to.

I'm not sure why we'd doubt Stein here.  Conley made the comment to ESPN.com.

Grizzlies mainstays Marc Gasol and Mike Conley also took an active role in recruiting Miller, with Conley jokingly telling ESPN.com on Tuesday at Team USA minicamp in Las Vegas that he offered Miller "golf on me for a year" if he would agree to join shooting-starved Memphis.

Of course, ESPN describes it as a joke, so I'm not sure there's any need for an investigation of whether the CBA was violated.

[D.o.s.]

There are a lot of guys signing for less money these days. Definitely makes you wonder.

In this case, I think it's because Miller is already getting his amnesty money from Miami.

Overall, I think it's because of the new CBA.

[Chris]

There are a lot of guys signing for less money these days. Definitely makes you wonder.

In this case, I think it's because Miller is already getting his amnesty money from Miami.

Overall, I think it's because of the new CBA.

Exactly.  Miller is being paid by Miami.  Not to mention, he may only be a vet minimum player anyways in todays market.

While the new CBA hasn't really affected the top of the market much, it has ended up squeezing the bottom of the market a lot, leading to a lot of the middle of the road or lower guys getting less money than they would have 3 or 4 years ago. 

[TripleOT]

Conley telling a prospective teammate that "golf's on me" is mroe of a friendly thing between two NBA players.  Ut certainly isn't on the same level of collusion as the Heat owner's son working on the staff of the 2008 Olympic team, where LeBron Wade and Bosh colluded to create a super team in Miami.

I don't see the league offices doing anything about this statement. If it was an owner or coach, it would be another matter.  the league once prevented Mark Cuban from letting Dennis Rodman stay in his guest house, calling it an extra benefit in violation of the CBA.