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Okay, so let's face it, more than likely none of us will be paid $150 million to do something we desperately love. But somehow, someway, Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley just signed a contract for five years, $153 million. Crazy thing is, this is the biggest contract in NBA history. You’d think that LeBron James or maybe even Kobe Bryant would hold this title, but nah; this title belongs to Mike Conley.
So if we’re being honest with ourselves, Mike Conley doesn’t deserve this contract whatsoever. He’s not a top five point guard in the league and he’s also not a superstar. Last season, Mike Conley only played 56 games due to an injury, and averaged 15.3 ppg on 42 percent shooting.
I don’t know about you, but these numbers don’t scream $150 million. In fact, they don’t scream half of that either. So it brings me to this point, if Conley is worth that much, how much is Stephen Curry worth? How much is Russell Westbrook worth? What about LeBron?
Now in Conley’s defense, he is extremely valuable to his team. He carries most of the load on offense and also proved that he can defend the ball. But the flip side is he plays in the toughest conference in the league. A conference, now with Durant joining the Warriors, will look nearly impossible for any other team to go the finals. Is Conley the type of player to carry this type of pressure? NO. Is Conley going to raise a banner in Memphis? NO.
A positive to all of this is that the Grizzlies did get better from last season. They did sign Chandler Parson, which I believe is a steal and also a very good pickup for them. But I still don’t see the Grizzlies making a serious championship run.
At the same time, I don’t blame Mike Conley for signing that contract. I would’ve signed it as soon as I heard $150 million. But let's be clear about something, he’s not deserving of it, but the market dictates that he is.