NBA Rumors: Mike Conley, Jrue Holiday Could Be Top Trade Targets For Utah Jazz Next Summer, Per ‘HoopsHype’
After suffering an early exit at the hands of the Houston Rockets in the 2019 Western Conference Playoffs, the Utah Jazz are expected to be more aggressive in finding ways to upgrade their roster in the 2019 NBA offseason. According to Frank Urbina of HoopsHype, one of the Jazz’s top priorities in the summer of 2019 is to find a new starting point guard to replace Ricky Rubio, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent next July.
Among the potential targets for the Jazz on the trade market is Mike Conley of the Memphis Grizzlies. Despite failing to acquire him before the February NBA trade deadline, Urbina revealed that the Jazz are still highly expected to resume their pursuit of Conley next summer.
“At the 2019 trade deadline, Utah was reportedly one of the finalists for Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley before Memphis decided against trading him, making it perfectly reasonable to believe the Jazz could try and reignite those talks this summer. Conley would present a major upgrade at the point for Utah, as he’s a 20-plus point-per-game scorer, can shoot the basketball more consistently from the outside and is a better defender than Rubio.”
As of now, there is no doubt that Mike Conley is a much better point guard than Ricky Rubio. Aside from being an incredible perimeter defender, Conley will also give the Jazz a very reliable scoring option next to the face of the franchise, Donovan Mitchell. In the 70 games he played this season, the 31-year-old point guard averaged 21.1 points, 6.4 assists, and 1.3 steals on 43.8 percent shooting from the field, and 36.4 percent shooting from beyond the arc.
Here Are 3 Teams Who Should Trade For Mike Conley After Early Playoff Exits: https://t.co/YpH2KTzNlm
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However, the Jazz aren’t the only NBA team who is expected to call the Grizzlies about Mike Conley in the 2019 NBA offseason. If the Grizzlies traded Conley to another team, Urbina suggested that the Jazz could also go after Jrue Holiday of the New Orleans Pelicans.
“If not Conley, Utah can also look to the New Orleans Pelicans for Jrue Holiday, another player who reportedly could become available this offseason.”
If the Pelicans part ways with Anthony Davis next summer, keeping a veteran point guard like Jrue Holiday no longer makes sense. At his point in his NBA career, Holiday will surely want to play for a legitimate playoff contender like the Jazz than being a part of the rebuilding process. Holiday would be an incredible addition to the Jazz, giving them an All-Star-caliber point guard who, like Mike Conley, is a reliable scorer and defender. His ability to excel in an off-ball capacity and play as a shooting guard makes him a perfect fit to the ball-dominant Donovan Mitchell.
