Mike Conley Trade Rumors: Pistons Join Jazz as Teams Interested in Grizzlies PG

The Detroit Pistons and Utah Jazz are reportedly among the teams interested in trading for Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley ahead of Thursday's deadline.

Tony Jones of The Athletic reported the Jazz and Pistons are "seriously talking" about potential deals with Memphis. However, it's unclear if anything will get done before the deadline.

Marc Stein of the New York Times reported the Jazz and Grizzlies discussed a deal with Conley and Ricky Rubio as the two principal pieces.

Memphis is exploring the trade market for Conley and Marc Gasol as the team slides out of the playoff picture. The Grizzlies' 21-33 record is the second-worst in the Western Conference, and they are eight games out of the final playoff spot. Their willingness to part with Conley and Gasol signals what will likely be a full-scale rebuild.

Conley, 31, is averaging 20.3 points, 6.3 assists and 3.4 rebounds on 43.5 percent shooting. He's mostly returned to form after missing all but 11 games of last season due to an Achilles injury, though his defense and shooting have taken a slip. 

The Pistons don't have much in the way of young talent to offer Memphis. Reggie Jackson's contract is bad by itself and would likely require a first-round pick to unload in any deal. Salary matching essentially requires Jackson to be in any Detroit-Conley trade. The Pistons own all of their first-round picks, but it would probably take at least two future firsts to move the needle for Memphis.

Conley's contract has two years and $67 million remaining and would helplessly lock Detroit into a Conley-Blake Griffin-Andre Drummond trio. Those three would make $91.8 million alone for 2019-20, about 84 percent of the projected $109 million cap. 

The Jazz remain the likeliest and arguably the most attractive destination for Conley.