by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
Mike Conley is one very happy man today. He’s the only one. Well, that’s not exactly true: his agent is pretty jazzed about the latest developments, too.
Everyone else, though? The range of emotions once the news of the deal broke late last night went from total confusion and disappointment, to conspiratorial, and for fans of the Memphis Grizzlies, all they could do was fall into a state of catatonic rage.
Through the season’s first three games, Mike Conley has bumped up his numbers across the board, so naturally, his employer lavished him with a five-year, $45 million contract.
ESPN reports:
The Memphis Grizzlies signed point guard Mike Conley to a contract extension late Monday night, according to his agent and father, Mike Conley Sr. Conley Sr., who along with Bill Duffy represents his son, would not specify the terms of the contract. But other sources with knowledge of the situation said the deal is worth $45 million over five years.
“Did I envision that Mike would play like this? Yes,” Conley Sr. said in a telephone interview on Monday. “But I did not have confidence that the Grizzlies would embrace him like they have with this contract. The first thing I told them when we began negotiating was that I didn’t want to go further with these discussions unless Mike was their guy. They said he’s their guy.” Conley’s signing came just minutes before Monday’s 11:59 p.m. ET deadline for 2007 draft picks to sign contract extensions. With teams reluctant to sign players because of the uncertainty of the league’s next collective bargaining agreement, Conley became only the fourth player from his class to receive an extension.
After the deals Mike Conley and Rudy Gay got in Memphis, I can hardly wait to see what guys like OJ Mayo and Marc Gasol are going to ask for when their time comes.
Strap yourselves in, Grizzlies fans. It’s going to be one hell of a ride.
