Following the Utah Jazz’s postseason exit on Friday night at the hands of the LA Clippers, a huge question facing the team in the offseason is the future of point guard Mike Conley.
The 33-year-old is a free agent who had an excellent 2020-21 season for the Jazz, and the team doesn’t have the financial ability to go out and sign another floor general of his caliber.
On the other hand, the Jazz could bring Conley back (teams can go over the salary cap to re-sign their own free agents), but it would put the team deep into the luxury tax, meaning owner Ryan Smith would be on the hook for a big bill to the NBA aside from the team’s total salary.
On Saturday afternoon, Conley addressed his pending free agency during the Jazz’s customary exit interviews the day after the season.
“Obviously you know how I feel about our team and the city and the fans,” he said. “It’s been just a wonderful two years. Definitely an up and down two years but wonderful regardless of how it ended last night.
“Free agency is free agency...it’s something that I have to sit back and consider with my family and when that time comes, make the decision that’s best for us, myself. Like I said, obviously I’ve had a great time here, great, great experiences, coaches — Coach Quin and the players, Don and Rudy and everybody, so we’ll just have to see what happens.”
Conley would certainly command less than the approximately $34 million he made this season but could still be in line for a big pay day despite his age given that he was named an All-Star this season for the first time in his career.
“Obviously I can’t speak, look into the future what exactly will happen,” he said. “It’s actually like my first time being a real free agent, so it’ll be interesting, but I did love it here and we’ll see what happens.”
Though his teammates won’t play an official role in the efforts to re-sign Conley, they will do what they can to convince him to come back to the team that helped him earn his first All-Star bid.
“I’ll do everything in my power, whether I have to FaceTime him or fly to his mansion in Ohio and have lunch with him or something, whatever it is, I’ll try,” Joe Ingles said.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/35DQquU
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