NBA Rumors: Utah Jazz to make a strong push to re-sign Mike Conley Jr. in free agency
nba-rumors" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-is-sponsored="false">NBA rumors suggest the Utah Jazz are likely to make every attempt to keep upcoming free agent Mike Conley Jr. on the roster next season. Conley had a successful individual campaign in 2020-21, in which he also made his long-awaited All-Star game debut.
Mike Conley Jr. averaged 16.1 points and six assists per contest, shooting a career-best 41.2% from downtown on 6.6 attempts last season. His All-Star caliber year was a major reason behind the Utah Jazz finishing the 2020-21 NBA campaign with the best record in the league (52-20).
Conley started the 2021 NBA Playoffs on a high and was the Utah Jazz's best player in their first-round series win against the Memphis Grizzlies. He averaged 17.8 points and 8.6 assists per contest on a whopping 66% shooting from deep in that series.
Unfortunately, he then suffered a hamstring injury and missed a portion of the Jazz vs. Clippers second-round series, which could be argued as one of the major reasons behind Utah's postseason elimination.
As per NBA rumors, the Utah Jazz are looking to run it back by keeping the majority of their players on the roster next season and will make every attempt to re-sign Conley in free agency. As reported by Tony Jones of The Athletic:
"Sources tell The Athletic that Utah wants Conley back and will make every attempt to keep the All-Star in a Jazz uniform once free agency opens."
Mike Conley has also stated before that he has enjoyed his time with the Utah Jazz and would love to be back with the squad. Head coach Quinn Snyder and the rest of his teammates are also very fond of Conley, which could make his return likely.
NBA Rumors: Analyzing why re-signing Mike Conley Jr. is important for the Utah Jazz
Re-signing Mike Conley Jr. will make the Utah Jazz an expensive roster next season as they are already a luxury tax-paying franchise. But replacing him will not be easy, which is one of the major reasons why the Jazz wouldn't mind going overboard with their salary structure for next season.
They have as many as nine players from last season guaranteed to be on the roster next season, giving them a chance to make a deep playoff run in the 2021-22 campaign. The Utah Jazz do not have the financial resources to sign a new starting point guard but can go over the salary cap if they want to re-sign Conley, as he is their own free agent.
Mike Conley Jr. is extremely important to the Utah Jazz's offense and key in extracting the best out of Rudy Gobert offensively, which is something that helped the Jazz become the lethal offensive force in the 2020-21 NBA season.