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Summary

The Jazz were hoping Conley could push them close to title contention when they traded for him last summer. However, Conley struggled in Utah due to injuries and the lack of familiarity that he had in Memphis. What was even more worrisome for the Jazz was that they tended to play better with him out than when he was healthy. Conley struggled to finish in the lane, as his righty floater that was so reliable in Memphis did not go in at the same rate in Utah. In addition, he didn't develop the chemistry with Rudy Gobert that he had previously with Marc Gasol.

 

Near the end of the regular season and in the playoffs, Conley started playing like his old self, hitting shots from outside and becoming more of a playmaker. His play in Orlando will give the Jazz some hope that they can improve next year with a healthy Bojan Bogdanovic.

 

The Jazz were very small playing Conley and Donovan Mitchell together, especially with a small-ball power forward in Bojan Bogdanovic as well. That lack of size at every position except center made things difficult against bigger teams, such as the Lakers.

 

If Conley had a better year, he could have opted out in order to lock in some long-term money, even if it meant taking a short-term paycut. However, it doesn't look like he would get an offer that would justify opting out in 2020. Conley could opt out and play some hardball with the Jazz, since they did give up a lot to get him and may not be able to adequately replace him in free agency, but the Jazz would likely let him walk rather than sign him to a big long-term deal.

Cap Considerations

Conley has an early termination option for his $34.5 million salary in 2020-2021, and will be an unrestricted free agent with a $41 million cap hold and full Bird rights if he opts out. If Conley opts out, the Jazz could have a significant amount of cap space, but only if Conley leaves. If the Jazz plan on re-signing Conley, they will be operating over the salary cap and have no restrictions on re-signing him.

 

If Conley is re-signed on a multi-year contract, front-loading his contract could be beneficial for the Jazz, as it could give them more flexibility in the future. However, this could push the Jazz near the luxury tax, depending on what happens with their other free agents.

 

Conley will certainly demand a starting salary of more than the full $9.3 million Non-Taxpayer Mid-Level Exception, which means only teams with cap space will be able to sign him. If Conley and an over-the-cap team have mutual interest, sign-and-trade options can be explored.

Potential Teams: Jazz, Bulls, 76ers, Pistons, Knicks

Predicted Contract: Opt-In

If he opts out: 3-year, $75 million with the Jazz

Actual Contract: Opt-In

There was a chance Conley would opt out and sign a long-term deal at a shorter number, but apparently there wasn't a deal out there that made sense, so Conley opted in as expected.

Last updated: 12/31/2020

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