We learned a little bit more about the veterans motives in free agency this week.
Earlier this offseason, the Boston Celtics signed veteran guard Mike Conley to a one-year contract. He's expected to be a backup point guard for both Derrick White and Payton Pritchard, though it's unclear how many minutes per night he'll actually get.
Conley's experience, mixed with his leadership qualities, certainly make him a valuable asset to the Celtics. But what drew Conley to Boston?
According to Minnesota Timberwolves reporter Jon Krawczynski, who was a guest on the CLNS Celtics podcast, he said that Conley really wanted to "at least spend one year playing for a flagship franchise."
Well, he has that chance with the Celtics, who are a legacy franchise.
About Conley
Now 38 years old, Conley was the No. 4 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft out of Ohio State. Over his 19-year career, he's played with the Memphis Grizzlies, Utah Jazz and Timberwolves. A reliable and durable player, he's a one-time All-Star, and he was also a member of the 2012-13 All-Defensive team.
A career 13.6 ppg scorer, he only averaged 1.7 ppg for Minnesota last season. He also only played 18.4 minutes per game. Earlier this offseason, Brad Stevens cited Conley's ability to play at a high level without needing to play every minute of a game as a very valuable trait to have. In a league full of egos, he's probably right on that.
Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) looks on in the second half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesHe's a career 38.7 percent shooter from three-point range and he's also an 82.6 percent shooter at the foul line. While Pritchard, White and Jayson Tatum figure to have the ball in their hands more than anyone else, Conley can certainly be a stabilizer offensively - especially when Pritchard is out of the game.
Elsewhere in Celtics news
Congratulations are in order for former Celtics big man Jared Sullinger, who announced his official retirement from basketball this week. The No. 21 overall pick in the NBA Draft in 2012 from Ohio State, Sullinger spent parts of five years in the NBA with the Celtics and Toronto Raptors before spending two seasons in China. With Boston, he appeared in 258 career games, earning 172 starts. He averaged 11.1 ppg and 7.5 rebounds, and he also helped the C's to the playoffs in 2014-15 and 2015-16. That last team he was on saw him become teammates with the likes of Avery Bradley, Jae Crowder, Isaiah Thomas and Marcus Smart, who were backbones of a few really good C's teams that made deep playoff runs.
He's headed to work at Ohio State.
