![]() ![]() And, as soon as it became clear to him that Utah was serious in its pursuit, he prepared himself for a move he saw as inevitable. It was an opportunity, embracing a moment they didn’t know would come and attempting to do something special.Ĭonley didn’t want to leave Memphis but knew he had to if, at 31, he was to have a chance at winning an elusive title. The two smiled, joked with each other, posed side by side and expressed their excitement for the season to come.īut there was an underlying theme from both of them. ![]() The two went through 30 minutes of interviews, numerous photos and even more handshakes. The Jazz formally introduced Conley and Bojan Bogdanovic - Utah’s big free-agent catch - on Monday morning in Las Vegas. “Things are put on people’s plate for a reason,” Conley would say. But there was also a career season, during which Conley as an individual never played better. There was the near-trade to the Jazz that fell through at the last moment. It was a tedious march through a season when it was apparent the Grizzlies were going to tear down everything and rebuild around Jaren Jackson Jr. Most importantly, Conley now knows what losing - real losing - feels like. He remembers the hard goodbye to Gasol, before he won a title in Toronto and FaceTimed Conley with champagne cascading off his goggles in the Raptors’ locker room. Conley remembers the Utah Jazz and their futile attempt to trade for him in February. But, with a Western Conference finals appearance the absolute apex, the end of the line came for those two as well. Brass rode it out with Conley and Gasol as long as possible. There was never a second ballhandler to ease the pressure off Conley.Īnd, of course, history tells us those Memphis Grizzlies teams broke up, piece by piece parceled off to other teams. There was never a dynamic small forward to create 25-point nights - the Chandler Parsons deal went horribly wrong. For as good as they were, there was never quite enough shooting. ![]() For as good as they were, the Grizzlies were affected as much as anyone by the sudden rise to power in Golden State. Those four represented an era of small-town NBA franchise success. ![]()
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