Will these Utah Jazz players be on the roster in 2022/23 or not?
By Nathan Smith
2. Will Mike Conley be in Utah for 2022/23?
Even before Rudy Gobert was traded and the rumours came out about Donovan Mitchell, the Jazz would have been smart to look for trade partners with Mike Conley, and given his incredibly high salary, attaching one of their new draft picks to be able to dump all that money will potentially be a play we see soon. There have been rumours that the Cavaliers would be interested in a move that involves Collin Sexton, but whichever team the Jazz get interested, it would be best for this franchise going forward to get away from that salary.
Next to Mitchell and Gobert as a third option, Conley was great, but with the expected trade to send Spida to the East, it’s just not feasible at this point in his career that Conley can be a first option, and Utah need to move off of him.
In three seasons with Utah, Mike Conley was everything the team wanted, putting up 15 PPG and being the leader this team needed, but for some reason, he avoids all criticism that the bigger stars get for a lack of playoff success. He’s not the reason the Jazz failed to take the next step, but unfortunately, he couldn’t fire when it mattered most, and perhaps with a team like Cleveland where he can be a veteran leader, perhaps off the bench, he should be able to come in and thrive for a young, up-and-coming playoff squad.