Conley Jr. averaged 9.4 PPG, 4.8 APG, 0.8 SPG in 53 games in his rookie year, after injuries, highlighted by a mild chest strain, shortened his season.
Here is my proposed trade between Memphis and Denver:
Marcus Camby
2009 1st Round Draft Pick
for:
Mike Conley
Antoine Walker
Reasons why Conley has become tradeable and Memphis should aquire Marcus Camby:
1. O.J. Mayo has been rumored to be switching over to point guard ever since news surfaced about his possibilty of joining the Miami Heat.
Given the lineup of the Grizzlies, the scenario is a little different now after the departures of Mike Miller (Part of Love-Mayo trade) and Juan Carlos-Navarro (Five-year contract in Barcelona), leaving holes at shooting guard.
Regardless, converting Mayo to the point guard causes an automatic threat to any opposition.
How many 6'4" 200+lbs. point guards are there in the league?
Only two. Jason Kidd and Derrick Rose.
Also, if Memphis decides to take a shot at Ben Gordon or Andre Igudola this summer, O.J.'s conversion is guaranteed.
2. If the Mayo experiment at point guard fails, the Grizz still have Kyle Lowry.
Dating back to Feb. 21, Lowry was the hot item at the trade deadline, drawing interests from teams around the league.
Kyle averaged 9.6 PPG, 3.6 APG, 1.1 SPG last season. Aside from the bold stats (PPG, RPG, SPG) that shows Lowry has better numbers of the two, he also:
Has a lower turnover average, higher player efficiency, a higher field goal percentage, and has more experience than Conley Jr.
3. Memphis desperately needs a big man.
The only center currently on their roster is Darko Milic after Jason Collins was sent to Minnesota as part of the Mayo-Love trade.
They could go after Emeka Okafor this off-season, but he will be demanding in the area of $13-14 million per year, roughly about $50-60 million total.
The Grizzlies won't pay that considering the fact that they are still attempting to get underneath the cap even more to have a go at 2009.
Then again, they could always resign Kwame Brown.
Marcus Camby is simply the right/short term move for the Grizzlies because he's still one of the NBA's best defenders at the center position, he brings veteran leadership, and he only brings two years left on his contract with him, which means resigning is optional in 2010.
4. With one of Denver's 2009 first round picks, Memphis can use the pick as bait in a trade to gain a player they need, or they can simply hang onto themselves.
Blake Griffin, Tyler Hansbrough, Patrick Patterson, and Hasheem Thabeet seem to be the top big men of 2009.
Reasons why the Nuggets should acquire Conley Jr., Walker, and trade Camby:
1. Mike Conley Jr. will be a good point guard in this league for years to come and the Nuggets are lost at that position.
By acquiring Conley, they have the position of floor-general locked up for the next year, and an extension can easily be worked out.
2. Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Jason Kidd, Steve Nash, and Tony Parker.
With the exception of Denver and Los Angeles, all Western Conference teams that made it to the playoffs had a All Star (caliber) point guard leading their squad.
Proof enough, that if you want to win in the Western Conference, you must posses a good point guard.
3. The Nuggets can replace Marcus Camby next season via the draft.
As I mentioned earlier about the future big men, rest assured not all will go in the Top 10. Some will slide down to the Top 20 or even to the second round.
With two chances in the opening round, the Nuggets have a fair chance of selecting their future defensive anchor.
4. While Antoine Walker, is no longer a superstar in this league, but he's an extremely effective lights out shooter who the Nuggets crave.
Walker's three-point shooting would give a boost to an already solid team from beyond the three point line.
I've crunched the numbers, and this trade actually saves the Memphis Grizzlies $1.7 million in cap space.
The deal is on the table. Now begins the waiting process.
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3 months ago
Credit to this article goes to Cody Blu who mentioned the idea of a Camby-Conley swap, I just ran with it.
from 3 months ago
Sean I like your idea here. I think it would be a great trade for Denver. Hugh Denver needs a true pg. Everyone knows that. To give up Camby for a true pg and a shooter in Walker would be great. I doubt Memphis would be dumb enough to make this deal though. I know some of you out there think that camby is our only line of defense and we need to not give him up. But my Question to you is Do you really think There is such thing as really good Defense in the NBA?? The correct answer is NO!
What Denver needs is a true good pg that can disribute the ball and make our offense run better. Defense does not win championships! Smart good offensive possesions does.
3 months ago
Sean, many of your trades, I think, are trades just to make trades. Don't get me wrong, I love your articles and your ideas. But ask yourself, would this trade truly make Denver any better than they are right now? I don't think it would. Antoine Walker is washed up. He is only included for salary cap issues. As good as Conley is, the Nuggets already have a point guard in Allen Iverson. They need defense. I think signing James Posey would be a good move for the Denver Nuggets. Somehow, the Nuggets need to trade Carmelo Anthony. I would love to see the Nuggets without him. I just can't stand him. What ever happened to the trade rumors with the Pistons? Please leave me feedback. Read my other articles and tell me what you think about them.
from 3 months ago
Mike Conley Jr. would be tremendous for the Nuggets.
He's a defender, he led his team to the National Championship, and was the #4th pick overall in his draft class.
Allen Iverson is not a point guard and you know that. He tends to overcompesate for his passing by shooting even more.
from 3 months ago
I agree that Mike Conley Jr. is a pure true point guard. He is a good defender and he did lead his team to the National Championship. . .with Greg Oden. Who cares if he was the No. 4 pick overall in his draft class? That doesn't mean anything. Darko Milicic was picked No. 2 in his draft class and he his horrid. As good as Mike Conley Jr. is, I don't think that he is the defender that the Nuggets want.
If you want to talk about trades, they need to get rid of Anthony Carter. He is terrible. Marcus Camby is the only defense-oriented player on the Nuggets.
Why would they sign a new point guard? They're not going to bench Allen Iverson so why not just wait until his contract runs out? Besides, Memphis wouldn't want to give up young pure talent for Marcus Camby.
from 3 months ago
Hugh, how can you say that this is a trade just to make a trade? Getting significantly younger at a position of need with a very talented athlete is a trade just to make a trade?
Conley not only brings good defense, but he understands the term "ball movement", something A.I. and Carter do not. I love A.I., but a point guard he is not. I watched so many teams kill us with great ball movement and I just dreamed that maybe we could do that for a string of conswecutive games.
You say this trade doesnt improve the Nuggs, but keeping the same roster will do what exactly? Another underachieving season and embarassing first round exit? No thanks.
The Nuggs have no tradeable assets besides Camby and Melo:
-Nene is not a commodity due to his cancer scare.
-K-Mart has a very undesirable contract.....still.
-Melo isn't going to return equal value, and you want to trade youth and keep AI? Build around AI as his time is about up?
-Linas Kleiza is about our only other option, but we would need to package picks with him to get someone significant
Camby presents the best trading chip, and yes, we would miss his interior defense, but this team has many needs right now. A true point guard, who understands ball movement, and can score for himself when needed (unlike Carter) doesnt make sense to you? By getting Conley it makes Carter expendable, and allows AI to move to SG, with JR coming off the bench.
To address from the Grizz's point of view: they have a glut of guards, and have FOUR point guards on roster, with a very respectable player in Kyle Lowry to pair with Mayo. Not only that, they have ZERO veteran leadership on that team, which is very valuable to such a young team. We also take back a bad contract which is very lucrative for a team looking to spend money in free agency.
This team needs to do something, and shouldve started with a new coach. This team is aging and needs desperatly to get younger. Trading Melo and keeping AI doesnt sve that AT ALL.
from 3 months ago
Denver screwed themselves when they traded for Allen Iverson. Are you blaming me for that Cody? It's not my fault that the Denver Nuggets' staff is retarded.
Denver only has one option right now: trade Carmelo Anthony. They would get equal value for him from any team in the NBA.
You know what? You're right. Having a front line of Nene and Kenyon Martin would be very successful.
Your proposed lineup after the "trade":
PG - Conley Jr.
SG - Iverson
SF - Carmelo
PF - Martin
C - Nene
I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be a successful lineup bro.
Oh, by the way. Denver needs a lot of things now but one of the things they don't need now is more offense in Conley. They need defense. So by getting rid of Camby, they lose the only defense that they have on this team. Sure Conley Jr. is a good defender. Is he as good a defending point guard than Iverson? No.
Oh, another thing Cody. You're suggesting of playing Allen Iverson at SG? Yeah, a 6-0 SG in the NBA. That would be interesting. Can you honestly imagine Allen Iverson guarding any SG in the NBA?
from 3 months ago
Did I say Iverson was your fault? No. Iverson is not a point guard, no where near it. He does not understand the concept of ball movement as I said. So yes, at best, he is a shooting guard in a point guards body.
Correct me if I am wrong sir, but was it not Anthony Carter often paired with AI, making AI the shooting guard? By the way, my proposed trade was this: Camby for Conly, Jaric, and a 1st, but Sean respectfully took it another direction, and that by all means is fine. That line-up gives you:
Conley Jr/AI/Jaric
AI/JR/Jaric
Melo/Kleiza
K-Mart/Kleiza
Nene/Hunter
Then I would turn around and package Kleiza and a pick or two for an impact big, and then use the MLE to get a backup at the 3. Have Sonny Weems sent to the NBADL to be groomed ass JR's backup, and we have Taurean Green out there as well.
You say you want to sign James Posey, but is he going to settle for the full MLE? Im pretty sure thats all we have to offer, and and I'm pretty sure that won't entice him.
If you want to trade Carmelo, thats fine, but what is he going to return? Give me some ideas there.
As far as Camby, Id love to keep him, but I think we are overvaluing his D a little much. He gets his blocks, and rebounds, but can't play a lick of man-to-man. I compare him to a roving free safety in football, he floats around the lane looking for blocks instead of being disiplined and staying with his man. Does he have an impact defensively? Yes, but even as a homerish Nuggets fan, I never understood him winning Defnesive Player of the Year.
With what I was saying pertaining to offense from Conley, I never said he had to have an impact on O, but how many times would a defense sag into the middle, forcing long jumpers from Melo and AI, or heavily contested layups? A bunch. How many times did defense leave room for Carter to which he could not score and stretch the D with a leadt a little threat of scoring? A bunch. I was saying, Conley can at least keep some teams honest by creating his own offense.
By the way, I wasn't trying to attack your post, rather just defending the idea.
from 3 months ago
Alright, forget the Conley thing. I just don't think it will happen. That's all I'm saying. We could sit here for weeks telling each other that this is a good or bad trade but the bottom line is that it won't happen.
As far as Carmelo Anthony goes, I think in order to win, the Nuggets need to trade him. I don't know how, but in order for Denver to be in the second round of the playoffs, it needs to be done. I guess that Denver rejected Detroit's proposed trade of Anthony for Prince and Billups? If that's true, Denver really is more retarded than I thought.
Until the end of next season, when Iverson's contract runs out, the Nuggets are stuck.
from 3 months ago
Hugh makes a good point. At this point the ONLY trade that the Nuggets can make to benefit them in any way is dealing Carmelo Anthony, because there is no way any team will take Iverson
3 months ago
Sean, I greatly agree with Hugh! Most of your articles are about trades involving Denver in which the scenario is impossible to benefit either team! Like Hugh said, Denver has A.I. for the point. Mike Conley would just take up a roster spot. If Camby leaves, who plays big to help the Nuggets get to the playoffs? Teams are now built inside-out.
from 3 months ago
To Tom:
How would not gaining a pure point guard be a good thing? Considering the fact that Allen Iverson plays shooting guard and does not do a very good job at the 1, the floor general position is an issue.
Marcus Camby would be nice in Memphis. Definitely better than Darko Milic or Kwame Brown, or am I wrong about that too?
3 months ago
Antoine Walker never met a three he didn't like -- especially when compared to the option of passing to someone else closer to the basket. Keep that has-been away from my Nuggets.
Conley would be OK though.
Nuggets should keep Camby. He's a stud.
from 3 months ago
Making trades with big contract such as Camby, K-Mart, or Melo more than likely means we may have to take back a bad contract just to make it work. Thats the only reason Walker is in this trade. It's more incentive for trade partners to get a young player such as Conley.
We could take Marco Jaric if that makes you feel any better, because I doubt Memphis would just "throw in" the likes of Hakim Warrick or Darko Millicic. Its the price to pay to get a young impact player.
3 months ago
Why on earth would the Nuggets want to pay Walker more than $8 million a year for the next three years? That's just an awful contract. There's no reason for the Nuggets to do this deal; if you're going to trade a near all-star guy like Camby, you'd better get back something more than a prospect (Conley) and a bad contract.
Also, I love how you suggest the Nuggets can replace Camby next year via the draft when you also are including one of their first round picks in the deal, and how one of the two exceptions to the "you need an all-star point guard to win the west" rule was the team that won the west, the Lakers.
Obviously this would be a great deal for Memphis, but while this COULD work out for Denver, I'm just not seeing it. I agree that the Nuggets shouldn't just sit on their hands and rack up another first round exit, but they shouldn't just blow one of their few tradeable assets for the first deal that comes around. I'd wait until the trade deadline, when teams are always more willing to make reasonable offers.
3 months ago
I'd at least change the headline of this article.
The headline fooled me into believing that I was about to read about a serious, factual trade possibility - when it was really just a guy's idea on how to improve his team.
"Grizzlies-Nuggets Deal: Is Mike Conley Headed to the Denver Nuggets?" is a bit misleading.
3 months ago
What are you smoking?
2 months ago
Hah...hah...hah.
I don't want to be rude or anything but...I told ya so.
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