NBA Trade Rumors: Spurs Could Acquire Mike Conley For Three Players And Draft Pick, ‘Bleacher Report’ Suggests
The San Antonio Spurs headed into the 2018-19 NBA season without a legitimate starting point guard on their roster. After losing Tony Parker in the recent free agency, Dejounte Murray, whom the Spurs considered as their point guard of the future, suffered a torn ACL during the preseason. The competition in the Western Conference continues to get tougher, and if the Spurs are serious about making a huge impact in the postseason, they should consider making a big move before the February NBA trade deadline.
According to Adam Fromal of Bleacher Report, the Spurs may consider engaging in a blockbuster trade with the Memphis Grizzlies involving star point guard Mike Conley. In a proposed trade deal, the Spurs will be sending a trade package including Marco Belinelli, Davis Bertans, Pau Gasol, and a 2019 lottery-protected first-round pick to the Grizzlies for Conley and MarShon Brooks.
Though both teams’ suggested offers match salaries, they will be needing to wait until mid-December to make the deal since Belinelli and Bertans just signed a contract in the recent free agency. The Spurs will lose lots of trade assets in the process, but the deal will undeniably give them a higher chance of challenging the reigning NBA champions, Golden State Warriors, for the Western Conference supremacy.
“As for the Spurs, Conley is the obvious prize. MarShon Brooks helps mitigate some of the shooting lost with the Belinelli departure, but this is all about finding an All-Star-caliber floor general who can set the table for DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge while patching up one of the many defensive holes. With the current roster construction and rash of maladies that plague the already limited depth, the Spurs might be tracking toward the organization’s first lottery finish since 1997—head coach Gregg Popovich’s first year in charge, which resulted in the draft-day acquisition of Tim Duncan.”
On @YahooSportsNBA: Mike Conley is eager to bounce back from "the most frustrating year of my life." Expects to be cleared for full-contact drills this month: "It’s like I lost my wallet, got it back & now I can do something with it." https://t.co/bnRguwa95K
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) August 7, 2018
Mike Conley will be an incredible addition to the Spurs. He will not only address their need for a starting caliber point guard, but he will also give them a very reliable scoring option next to DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge. DeRozan won’t have a hard time sharing the backcourt with Conley since he spent the past years playing alongside Kyle Lowry in Toronto. The combination of Conley, DeRozan, Rudy Gay, Aldridge, and Jakob Poeltl will surely give a huge headache to any opposing teams, even to Western Conference powerhouse teams like the Warriors and the Houston Rockets.
As of now, there is no strong indication that the Spurs and the Grizzlies plan to make a deal centered on Mike Conley. Expect more rumors to circulate before the February NBA trade deadline.
