John Keeffer’s pick – Mike Conley
J-Noter John Keeffer feels strongly that the risk and sacrifice required to land Mike Conley would be worth the reward.
I don’t know if it will be an earth-shaking trade, but I do expect the Utah Jazz to make at least one move prior to next Thursday’s trade deadline. The most ideal and realistic trade I can see the team making is the one that has already been reported on multiple times. I would love to see Mike Conley in a Utah Jazz uniform. The transition from the Memphis Grit N’ Grind style of play to the Jazz defense-first approach seems like a match made in heaven.
I have loved Ricky Rubio, and he has been a fantastic member of the Utah community, but he has never shown the ability to be consistently great for the Jazz. Conley would give the Jazz another legitimate scorer next to Mitchell, one capable of scoring 20 points a game. On the other side of the ball, he is in no way a downgrade from Rubio defensively.
The price tag will be difficult for some to swallow, but for a small market team like the Jazz, you can’t bank on saving your money for free agency, because if you swing and miss, you are going to overpay an average player. Conley’s deal has two years left, and I, for one, would be happy to overpay him if it means finally having a consistent floor general on both ends.
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