Grizzlies, Conley agree on $153M deal

Before Friday, only two players in National Basketball Association history had made $30 million per year – Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.

A person with direct knowledge of the negotiations tells The Associated Press that Mike Conley is staying with the Memphis Grizzlies after agreeing to a five-year, $153 million deal. Despite much noise surrounding Kevin Durant’s free agency this offseason, Conley has been one of the more (if not the most) coveted players in free agency.

Conley’s new contract is yet another sign of the NBA’s new financial reality thanks to the salary cap’s one year jump from $70 million to $94 million.

Conley previously signed a five-year, $45 million extension in 2010, which was criticized given his lack of production to that point.

DeMar DeRozan re-signed with the Toronto Raptors for five years, $145 million.

In addition to Parsons getting a big deal in Memphis, it appears that Matthew Dellavedova could be on his way out of Cleveland. He was expected to return to the Grizzlies on a contract similar to Gasol’s and likely would have received a four-year max offer from several suitors. Yet he’ll be compensated above and beyond any of the league’s greats due to the intersection of his free agency and the NBA’s greatest financial boom.

Now, the Grizzlies turn their attention to re-signing free agent point guard Mike Conley.

This is a pretty unbelievable day in Grizzlies free agency history, but there’s some good news/bad news here. Conley is a few tiers removed from the best players at his position and otherwise bears little resemblance to a conventional superstar.

With teams each having roughly $24 million more to spend, players in the league are commanding unprecedented contracts. The concern with big contracts like Conley’s is usually the team’s ability to build around them, but when there are so many good supporting actors around him already, this becomes less of an issue. They have nobody like me, and their veteran, experienced players are a ideal fit with me.

The 27-year-old Parsons had hybrid microfracture surgery on the knee in spring of 2015, and the rehab from that operation lasted well into the 2015-16 season. Those risks could well be worth it considering the other available options, but they’re real. He was limited to just 56 contests due to an Achilles injury, however, which put a major damper on the Grizzlies’ campaign.