Last season that Jazz had one major issue that kept rearing its ugly head game after game. The issue was magnified as the regular season concluded and the Jazz were trounced in the playoffs by the Houston Rockets. The reoccurring theme was that the team needed to upgrade at the point guard position badly. Ricky Rubio is a nice player. He can direct and control an offense. He can get players the ball to score. And he excels at controlling the pass of a game. The issue that he caused for the team was that he was not a consistent threat to score. It allowed defenses to give Rubio space because they knew he wasn’t going didn’t have the ability to consistently put the ball in the basket, and they knew they could focus more on the scorers around him. Rubio’s contract expired when Utah’s season ended and he and the team were both able to go their separate ways.
The Missing Piece
On June 19th the Utah Jazz completed a trade that had been in the rumor mill for the previous six months. It happened. The team was able to get one of the leagues most consistent point guards of the last decade for backup players, a rookie, and a couple of late first-round draft picks.
Grizzlies Receive:
- Kyle Korver
- Jae Crowder
- Grayson Allen
- 2019 First-round pick
- 2020 First-round pick
Jazz Receive:
- Mike Conley
Even though this was a trade that was rumored to have been in the works since the middle of January, the news of it still shock through the NBA world. Almost all NBA analysts and sports news agency raved about the move. They talked about how this was the move the Jazz needed to make.
Mike Conley’s reputation as one of the best teammates in the league precedes him. He’s a great locker room guy. He’s not a complainer. And he’s a ‘team first’ player. He’s not concerned about his numbers – even though he leaves Memphis as the organization’s leader in games, points, assists, and steals.
Even though this was a trade that was rumored to have been in the works since the middle of January, the news of it still shock through the NBA world. Almost all NBA analysts and sports news agency raved about the move. They talked about how this was the move the Jazz needed to make. On ESPN’s The Jump, former NBA coach and 3-time champion Byron Scott said,
“I definitely feel he makes them a better basketball team, because he is one of the better point guards in the league. I think he is underrated as far as a lot of point guards that you talk about. He’s a gut that can get others involved. But Mike can also score. That’s something Ricky Rubio couldn’t do on a consistent basis. I like what the Utah Jazz did with this trade. I like Mike Conley a lot.”
Mike Conley is the spark the Jazz have needed at the point guard position since the team traded away Deron Williams in February of 2011. He’ll help the young team continue to grow and mature. He’ll help take the pressure to score off of players like Donovan Mitchell, Joe Ingles, and Rudy Gobert. And most important, he’ll help the Jazz win a lot of basketball games.
Jazz Fans 