Analyst likes veteran PG’s potential Boston Celtics fit alongside Big Three as ring-chaser
16-year NBA veteran Mike Conley is someone Beale Street Bears’ Mark Nilon believes would be a great fit alongside the newly formed Boston Celtics Big Three of Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis. The former Hardwood Houdini co-editor feels as though Conley has earned the right to play for a team truly in the mix for an NBA championship as his career nears its conclusion.
“Adding a no-ego, highly committed/ productive floor general like the Memphis legend to a Celtics roster already consisting of All-Star talents like Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kristaps Porzingis would be a great move for the club to make and, as a result, it would give Mike Conley a great chance to legitimately compete for a championship as he fades into the twilight years of his NBA career,” Nilon wrote.
The Celtics do have an opening in the backcourt after trading away Marcus Smart to the Memphis Grizzlies, so Conley to the Cs is a possibility that lurks as Brad Stevens continues to stockpile second-round draft picks for a “larger” deal.
Malcolm Brogdon ‘sticks out like a sore thumb’ as a Mike Conley trade candidate for the Boston Celtics
As our own Ben Grunert put it, Malcolm Brogdon is the most obvious candidate to be moved by the Boston Celtics for Conley if the Minnesota Timberwolves front office and the C’s ever engaged in discussions for the latter’s expiring contract — something that an extension for Brown can prompt the team to due given the luxury tax implications of his potential supermax.
“When it comes to players that would match Conley’s salary, Malcolm Brogdon sticks out like a sore thumb,” Grunert prefaced before saying, “The reigning NBA Sixth Man of the Year struggled with a torn tendon in the back half of the postseason, causing his play and subsequent trade value to take a hit.”
Brogdon was the initial player Boston sent away in a Porzingis deal; this before the Los Angeles Clippers decided to nuke negotiations by not wanting him due to the point guard’s injury wear-and-tear. It’d make sense to see Stevens aim to flip him for an upgrade after a Sixth Man of the Year campaign. The primary holdup becomes whether Minnesota wants to roll the dice on a player Los Angeles wouldn’t.