5 Players Blazers could swap Jerami Grant for to keep tanking hopes alive
Option No. 3: Mike Conley, Minnesota Timberwolves
Another point guard is certainly not what the Blazers need. However, Portland could use a $24.3 million expiring contract and, quite honestly, a solid veteran in Conley to work with inexperienced players such as Scoot and Sharpe.
With 17 years of NBA experience and more than 1,000 games played – including 78 postseason appearances – Conley is a seasoned vet and has always been a well-respected leader in the locker room. His best playing days are behind him, but Portland doesn’t need, or really even want, him to soak up a ton of minutes.
The Timberwolves, meanwhile, need a giant roster shakeup, even if they haven’t acknowledged it yet.
Anthony Edwards is no longer the future of the franchise; he’s the present. It’s time he has the ball in his hands and runs the show, so another ballhandler isn’t a need. And if things go south in Minnesota during the first half of this season, two things will quickly become clear:
- The Wolves need to immediately make moves to give Edwards the roster he wants and needs before he becomes the next superstar to demand a trade.
- Minny will need to trade more than just Conley. Karl-Anthony Towns is the team’s most valuable asset outside of Edwards, and if the franchise is really going to rebuild on the fly, Towns will need to be on the move as well.
That would open a spot for Grant, whose versatility and proven role as a secondary scorer would help Ant continue to develop. His defensive length and ability would pair nicely with Rudy Gobert as well, allowing Edwards to run the show on offense while having two good defenders behind him.