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With Mitchell and Rudy Gobert departed, it’s beyond clear that the Utah Jazz are set to begin a full rebuild, one that will be in its early stages in 2022-23. As such, the team has no use for veterans like Mike Conley, who’s now 34 and coming off a pretty poor campaign by his previously high standards.
Last season, Conley averaged 13.7 points, his lowest amount since 2011-12, to go with 5.3 assists and 1.3 steals on 43.5 percent shooting, 40.8 percent from three. Those shooting percentages do indicate Conley might have something left in the tank, the question is: Will teams think he has enough left in his prime to justify taking on his contract, which will pay him $22.7 million this upcoming season and $24.4 million the year after?
That remains to be seen, but one report this week did mention the Los Angeles Lakers are interested in various Jazz veterans, including Conley:
The Lakes have some interest, I’m told, in the Jazz vets who could be traded (Mike Conley, Jordan Clarkson, Bojan Bogdanovic). But the Lakers also want to preserve cap space for next summer and aren’t that interested in taking contracts beyond 2022-23. Bogdanovic on expiring.
— Jeff Zillgitt (@JeffZillgitt) September 2, 2022
The Athletic’s Tony Jones also reported that the Jazz will now pivot to entertaining trade talks for Conley, among their other veterans:
The Jazz are, according to sources, also engaged in trade conversations around its remaining pieces, namely veterans forward Bojan Bogdanovic, guard Mike Conley and guard Jordan Clarkson.
We’ll see where those talks go, but it would be rather surprising to see Conley on Utah’s roster by the time training camp begins. He simply doesn’t fit the team’s timeline anymore and contenders will be interested in acquiring him to help boost their chances of a deep playoff run.
For the latest Mike Conley rumors, click here.
