It was announced today that Mike Conley has been traded to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder, Kyle Korver, the 23rd pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, and a future first round pick.

Mike Conley has been a part of the Grizzles organization since being drafted in 2007, but it was time for the Grizzles to let Mike Conley go as they are now most likely to draft Murray State point guard Ja Morant at the second pick.

I think that this was a great trade for both sides. Memphis will get some good players in return to help their rebuild, and Utah is getting a great point guard that will definitely be a contributor to their run of an NBA Championship. Who do I think won this trade? I think that Utah won this trade because they got the best player in the deal.

How does this trade benefit Utah?

This trade benefits Utah big time as they have been trying to make a deep run in the Western Conference. The past two years doing a big load of the scoring was Donovan Mitchell, but once they played good defense on Mitchell, they had no else to look too. People could possibly say that they could look to their big man Rudy Gobert, but he isn’t a guard or small forward that could light it up on the floor. Adding Mike Conley, who averaged 21.1 points per game last season, will be that second go-to-guard for the Jazz. I think this moves makes Utah a team that could possibly compete for NBA Championship.

How does this benefit Memphis?

This trade probably was not a shock for some fans as they are looking to continue to build this team. Giving up a player who has been a part of the organization is tough, but they got some great players in return. Jae Crowder is a tough player, he has great defense and can put in about at least ten points a game for the Grizzles. I loved him in Boston, but it was understandable move to get rid of him if you are trading for Kyrie Irving. Kyle Korver is near the end of his career, but he is an amazing shooter. Grayson Allen, who was remembered as the Duke Blue Devil, just finished his rookie season in Utah. He can be a good player a few years down the line. With having Jaren Jackson on the team and possibly soon to be Ja Morant, the Grizzles could be a good team down the line.

All in all, this was a great trade for both sides. This is only the beginning of the the offseason though. I am sure going to draft night and to free agency, both the Jazz and Grizzles will be looking to make their team stronger. But it might be hard to convince teams to come to either Utah and Memphis, because the city life is probably boring.

Oh, and one more thing before I close. Utah. Jazz guard Ricky Rubio is a free agent this summer and this trade probably will mean he will leave Utah. He wouldn’t be a bad player to see in Celtic green next season ;).

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