Utah Jazz duo of Conley, Mitchell could team up at FIBA World Cup

Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell has reportedly reaffirmed his commitment to Team USA this summer. His new backcourt mate Mike Conley may soon join him on the squad.

Nearly five years after USA Basketball beat Bogdan Bogdanovic and Serbia to capture the gold in 2014, the next FIBA World Cup of Basketball is right around the corner with the 2019 competition officially tipping off in China on August 31.

While the Americans are undoubtedly still the gold-medal favorites, big questions surround the national team, with none more pressing than just who the heck will even be part of the squad this time around.

Several NBA stars have already dropped out of the player pool for this cycle. The team has been hit particularly hard in the backcourt, where Portland Trail Blazers guard and Weber State alum Damian Lillard was the latest guard to reportedly decline his invite.

One player who we know will be in attendance when training camp begins this month — and a virtual lock at this point to join Team USA in China — is Utah Jazz star Donovan Mitchell.

Mitchell has given no indication he’s looking to withdraw from the national team. And, on Wednesday, Yahoo! Sports’ Chris Haynes reported that the 22-year-old will be keeping his commitment, per his sources.

For Jazz fans, this is something of a good news-bad news situation.

On the one hand, having one of your home-grown stars team up with some of the best players in the NBA to represent America at the highest level of international competition is always exciting. Really, it’s brought a small measure of validation for the player and team in the eyes of the Jazzland faithful whenever Utah has enjoyed representation in the past.

On the other hand, the injury risk is real and it has burned the Jazz before. Memories of Dante Exum tearing his left ACL in an Aussie Boomers’ exhibition bout in 2015 still feel fresh. The Jazz can’t afford to have something similar happen to Mitchell.

However, if you’re looking for reasons to put injury fears on the backburner and go all-in on the World Cup hype, here’s a pretty good one: Utah’s new floor general, Mike Conley, could be joining Mitchell with Team USA.

In a piece for The Athletic (paid subscription required), Joe Vardon floated Conley’s name as a potential replacement for one of the camp invites.

Although he’s never represented his country in international competition, Conley is no stranger to the men’s senior national team. He participated in the squad’s mini-camp in 2013, appearing in the USA Basketball Showcase game. Later, he was a finalist for the 2016 U.S. Olympic team.

If he and Mitchell both make the World Cup squad, it will be a great opportunity for the two to work together and gel on the hardwood well in advance of the 2019-20 NBA season. The two have already done work-outs together; sharing the court in live-game situations would be the next evolution in that process.

With much of Utah’s success going forward depending on what Mitchell and Conley can do as a backcourt tandem, any time they can spend traveling together, plying their trade together and winning games together can only be a good thing.

Just as long as no one gets hurt.

USA Basketball will tip-off the group stage of World Cup play against the Czech Republic on September 1. Jazzmen Joe Ingles and Rudy Gobert are also confirmed World Cup participants for Australia and France, respectively.