Memphis' No. 4 in the vaunted 2007 draft, point guard Mike Conley, has been a bust by all measures. It's early of course, and point guards take a minute to mature. But Conley has lost his job to Kyle Lowry twice, and Lowry's headed toward a career as an Earl Watsonesque role player. Conley's been rumored as trade bait since he entered the NBA, but things have heated up now.Ron Tillery of the Memphis Commercial-Appeal reports Memphis and Milwaukee have discussed a deal to send Conley to the Bucks in exchange for second-year point guard Ramon Sessions and rookie Joe Alexander. The idea is that Milwaukee can't really afford to offer Sessions (who will be a restricted free agent this summer) a hefty extension to stay, so as long as the Conley-Sessions talent swap is lateral, it's a win for the Bucks. (Alexander hasn't exactly impressed as a top-10 pick.) The Grizz just want to move on from Conley, possibly embracing the idea O.J. Mayo can be a full-time starting point guard. (Jury's out.)
I'm obviously not privy to interior thinking on these things, but I wonder why Memphis wouldn't wait to see whether Monta Ellis is serious about forcing a trade, for two reasons. Memphis is the only team under the salary cap for this year; Ellis is a base-year compensation player, which means he's hard (almost impossible) to trade to a team over the cap without a third (hopefully under-the-cap) team. Further, Memphis seems like the best possible landing spot for Ellis -- if Golden State were interested in Conley, the Grizz could pair him with one or three of those forwards in a swap in which Memphis wouldn't have to offer matching contracts (which also helps cut Golden State's payroll).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
1-11-2009 @ 2:52PM
mikemontel2000 said...
"bust by all measures"
Hey, he is shooting 81% free throws, compared to 69% he shot in college, haha. He would be a junior in college right now.
Look at Steve Nash, he played 4 years in college and then 4 more years in the NBA before he averaged over 10 points.
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1-11-2009 @ 7:23PM
Gene said...
woop de friggin doo FT%
as of righ now conley is a bust not like a Kwame Brown or a Darko but he is a bust,
he has produced little and has shown little signs of his potential
however i still do think that conley will mature into a servicable starting PG with time your right as of right now he would be Jr. in college but the chances of him living up to the #4 pick are slim and none
as for memphis Milwakees offer is very good Sessions is a very underrated player and Alexander is full of potential and a Monta Ellis trade would be superb and could even help the team win now
By The Way DOOOOO NOOT MOVE OJ MAYO TO PG
I am her watching him develop into a profilic scorer in the Kobe D-Wade mold and they just want to crush my dreams of him and ruin their possibilities
1-11-2009 @ 8:41PM
M1K3Y said...
damn... that sucks. at least if Sessions & JA go to the Grizz they could have Rudy Gay AND Joe in the SDC. that'd be tight.
but idk if i really believe these rumors.
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1-12-2009 @ 9:02AM
Freezer said...
I - a life-long Memphian - said drafting Conley was a bad move; not just because the Grizz's biggest need was (and still is) interior size and toughness, but because Conley had "Sebastian Telfair" written all over him (underage, undersized PG with no D and a suspect jumper). The sooner they ship him out and start getting Mayo real minutes at the 1, the better.
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1-12-2009 @ 11:44AM
ManofSteelo said...
Yes, Conley's sorry, but he's still got a few years to prove that he can actually play before he is an out-and-out bust. Sure, he's blown a golden opportunity to shine in Memphis, but maybe the change of venue (and going against a lackluster Luke Ridnour daily) will help his game. Then, again, maybe not -- since Sessions is WAY better than Conley and is still doing the time-share thing w/Ridnour thanks to GM Hammond's crazy infatuation with Luke. Either way, Conley sucks, but good luck to him all the same.
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1-12-2009 @ 3:43PM
bobbo said...
Calling a 21-year-old point guard averaging 7.5 ppg a "bust" is simply dumb.
Memphis is a mess. Iavaroni is a bust if anyone is. I had some very good seats for the Nets-Grizzlies game and that team needs Hubie Brown or George Karl...a total dictator. They don't talk to each other than to argue. Gasol is incredibly overrated. Offensively, he is fine, but he may be the worst defensive big man in the NBA, starting OR coming off the bench.
No one seems to know what the point guard should do or who he should be. Mayo dominates the ball so much he may as well be one.
Giving up on Alexander is more of a story than giving up on Conley. That was one dumb pick. The Bucks trade Yi for RJ in the afternoon, then take Alexander at #8. Why? To make amends to their five Chinese fans? Then, they take Mbah a Moute in the second round.
I will say one thing: these two teams GMs deserve one another.
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