After a quiet first night of NBA free agency, the Celtics made a move on Wednesday morning, signing long-time veteran point guard Mike Conley to a one-year deal. Conley will be 39 years old when the season starts, and it’s not clear how much he has in the tank, but he’s a perfect veteran leader for the locker room, and it’s hard to do much better with a vet minimum contract.
He’s obviously not the player he once was, but it’s not like Conley is just an assistant coach at this point. He’s a great ballhandler and shooter, and he has been a good defender for much of his career.Â
He played in 54 games for the Timberwolves last season, averaging just over 18 minutes a game, and was a real part of the team’s playoff rotation, appearing in all 12 postseason games for the Wolves.
This isn’t a needle-moving signing that changes much for the Celtics and their offseason plans, but it’s a really nice start. Conley has long been a great locker-room guy and has been a beloved teammate everywhere he’s gone in his 19-year NBA career.
Celtics still need another guard
This move will definitely help with some of the Celtics' needs, adding another ballhandler, a great passer, and a knockdown shooter, but it’s not enough. At this point in his career, Conley certainly can’t be relied on for much offensive creation or playmaking, and he’s not going to pressure the rim at all.
He’s best suited to playing around 15 minutes a game as a pure backup point guard, setting up the offense, then likely fading into the corner where he’s still a threat to knock down open looks with his sweet lefty stroke.
But this isn’t the rim-pressuring playmaker that Boston badly needs, and this minimum signing shouldn’t change the calculus at all going forward. Whatever trades the Celtics are looking at, be it Jaylen Brown or otherwise, shouldn’t be changed at all by this signing. Likewise, if they’ve been pursuing another scoring guard, like an Anfernee Simons type, that should certainly still be in the cards as well.
So, all in all, this is a very nice move for the Celtics, and Boston will quickly fall in love with Conley. I’m thrilled with this start to free agency, but he’s no longer a game-changer on the floor, and Brad Stevens and the Celtics still have plenty of work to do.
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