Utah Jazz: Mike Conley would be a great fit on and off the court

As great as Mike Conley would be as an enhancement to the Utah Jazz roster, his contributions off the court are what make him truly special.

With reports emerging furiously that the Utah Jazz are revisiting trade talks with the Memphis Grizzlies to acquire point guard Mike Conley, it’s hard to not get excited about the prospect. All indications show that the Jazz front office is very high on the prolific guard and it’s not hard to see why.

Conley is coming off a season wherein he averaged a career-high 21.1 points per game and a solid mark of 6.4 assists per contest. He is a career 37.5 percent 3-point shooter, an excellent playmaker that would command opposing teams’ attention and open up the floor for the Jazz, and on top of it all an excellent defender.

By all rights he’s an excellent teammate that would fit the Jazz’s tight-knit mold and keep chemistry as high as ever. His basketball IQ is off the charts and his veteran leadership and experience would fit this Jazz team like a glove. In other words, he would be an ideal addition on the Utah roster for essentially every aspect of his on-court prowess.

But the Jazz have a reputation of not just bringing in high-quality players, but also high-quality people. The Jazz organization understands that as important as it is to produce wins on the basketball court, it’s also important to be involved and charitable in the community.

They’re full of players who have done just that, such as Donovan Mitchell‘s endless list of community outreach, Ricky Rubio‘s involvement with 5 for the Fight, Joe Ingles‘ emphasis on Autism Awareness, Derrick Favors‘ support of the Ronald McDonald House Charities and so many other examples from the likes of Rudy Gobert, Georges Niang, Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder and others.

Along those lines of charitable giving, help in the community and just being an all-around stand-up person, Mike Conley would fit the bill perfectly. He’s been a household name in the NBA Community Assist Award ranks, as he was nominated for the season-long award both last season and this season and won the monthly version of the award in both January 2016 and earlier this year.

Conley was also selected as a finalist for the J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship Award this season, an award presented to one who shows outstanding service and dedication to the community.

Some of Conley’s most outstanding acts of service include donating over $1.2 million to the Grizzlies Foundation, which focuses on educating youth and helping students reach their potential, hosting his 10th Annual Bowl-N-Back event to raise money for the Methodist Hospital Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center, inviting the family of Kameren Johnson, a Memphis nine-year-old boy who lost his life in a bus crash, to an unforgettable Grizzlies experience as well as donating $15,000 to assist with medical bills for all of Johnson’s youth football teammates affected by the crash, and discussing Martin Luther King Jr. Day with local prep students, to name a few.

Truly, the list of Conley’s accomplishments and involvement could go on and on. Forget all he’s done on the basketball court, he’s been as exemplary as they come off the court in Memphis in the way he’s helped kids and families, given back to the community and sacrificed time and money to simply make the world a better place.

In short, he’s exactly the kind of person that Salt Lake City residents should want living in their city. There’s no doubt in my mind that he would revolutionize Utah’s offense and playing style, but even more importantly he would revolutionize the lives of several Utahns in need.

Ironically, both Mike Conley and Donovan Mitchell are up for this year’s NBA Community Assist Award, and either would be more than worthy of the nod. Jazz fans are very familiar with all that Mitchell does to inspire and uplift the community, so knowing that Conley is on that same plane in his own city should add extra excitement to the prospect of adding him to the mix in Utah.

The Jazz have a desperate need to improve their roster this offseason if they want to capitalize on the talent of Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell while competing for a title in the deep Western Conference. However, they also want to do so while keeping the team’s character in place. Adding Mike Conley would serve as an exceptional opportunity to accomplish both.