Mike Conley Rumors: Spurs Plan to Pursue Free-Agent PG
The San Antonio Spurs lost their second-round playoff series to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday and are now forced to look toward their future earlier than anticipated after a 67-win campaign.
That future may include point guard Mike Conley.
Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported the Spurs will “court" Conley, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the offseason. Conley was the fourth overall pick in the 2007 NBA draft, and the former Ohio State Buckeyes star has played with the Memphis Grizzlies for his entire career.
He played in only 56 games in 2015-16 because of injuries but posted 15.3 points, 6.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He has averaged double figures in scoring in each of the last eight seasons thanks to his ability to shoot from three-point range and attack the basket, but he also brings solid assist and steal numbers to the table:
| 2007-08 | 53 | 9.4 | 4.2 | 0.8 | 42.8 | 33.0 |
| 2008-09 | 82 | 10.9 | 4.3 | 1.1 | 44.2 | 40.6 |
| 2009-10 | 80 | 12.0 | 5.3 | 1.4 | 44.5 | 38.7 |
| 2010-11 | 81 | 13.7 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 44.4 | 36.9 |
| 2011-12 | 62 | 12.7 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 43.3 | 37.7 |
| 2012-13 | 80 | 14.6 | 6.1 | 2.2 | 44.0 | 36.1 |
| 2013-14 | 73 | 17.2 | 6.0 | 1.5 | 45.0 | 36.1 |
| 2014-15 | 70 | 15.8 | 5.4 | 1.3 | 44.6 | 38.6 |
| 2015-16 | 56 | 15.3 | 6.1 | 1.2 | 42.2 | 36.3 |
Conley would bolster San Antonio’s point guard situation. Tony Parker will be 34 years old on Tuesday, and the 40-year-old Andre Miller was on the floor during the fourth quarter in Thursday’s 113-99 Game 6 loss to the Thunder. Patty Mills is set to be an unrestricted free agent in 2017, per Spotrac.
Conley would give the Spurs a distributor who could get LaMarcus Aldridge and Kawhi Leonard involved in the offense. He can also score when opposing defenses sag off him.
And Conley would provide more athleticism to a squad that desperately needs some.
“It's just hard for Leonard being the only guy who can run or jump on this Spurs team,” Nate Duncan of The Cauldron observed during Thursday's loss.
Conley’s defensive approach also fits with a San Antonio squad that finished first in the NBA this season with a defensive rating of 96.6, per NBA.com. The Ohio State product earned second-team All-Defense honors in 2012-13, led the league in steals with 174 in 2012-13 and finished second with 136 steals in 2011-12.
Conley also held opponents to 1.6 percent worse shooting from three-point range than their normal averages this season, according to NBA.com.
He is a playoff-tested veteran with 50 postseason games on his resume but is still only 28 years old. Conley brings a variety of skills on the offensive end and impressive defensive acumen at a position where the Spurs need more quality depth.
The pairing makes sense as San Antonio moves into a future in which it relies less on the Big Three of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Parker and more on Aldridge, Leonard and any new additions.
