What a long, strange two weeks it’s been for Mike Conley. When most NBA players are paying someone to plan a lavish tropical vacation for them and their family during the All-Star break, Mike Conley was still unsure where he would play out the rest of his 19th NBA season.
The Minnesota Timberwolves first traded him to the Chicago Bulls as part of a three-team deal that included Kevin Huerter, Dario Saric, and Jaden Ivey. The Wolves also sent a first-round pick swap to the Detroit Pistons to get off Conley’s salary. A day later, the Bulls traded Conley and Coby White to the Charlotte Hornets. The next day, February 5, the Hornets waived Conley, allowing him to sign with any team he wanted, including a return to the Timberwolves.
On Tuesday, the Timberwolves, who swung a separate deal with the Bulls to land Ayo Dosunmu, signed Conley to a minimum contract for the rest of the season. After a two-week break, Conley rejoins a Wolves squad that has some work to do in 26 games after the All-Star break.
The Wolves went 2-2 during Conley’s absence. They beat the Toronto Raptors on the road, hours after learning they had traded Conley to Chicago. They dropped a stinker against the New Orleans Pelicans, and the LA Clippers embarrassed them before rounding back into form with blowout wins over the Atlanta Hawks and Portland Trail Blazers.
Minnesota sits in sixth place in the West at 34-22 heading into the “second half” of the season and is only 1.5 games out of third place. With Dosunmu in the fold, the Wolves have their sights set on a third straight trip to the conference finals, and maybe even more. Conley’s return is a boost to Minnesota’s locker room, but what will the 38-year-old’s role be down the stretch?
Conley already had a diminished role before the trade deadline musical chairs. His 18.5 minutes per game was the lowest total of his career. His scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage are all at career lows. Conley was shooting just 32.2 percent from the field in his 44 games this season.
The Wolves were plus-6 points per 100 possessions better when Conley was on the bench than when he was on the court. By nearly every metric, it’s the worst season of his storied career. He was already playing behind Donte DiVincenzo and Bones Hyland when Minnesota traded him. Now with Ayo Dosunmu in the mix, Conley is no higher than the fifth guard in Chris Finch’s rotation.
Dosunmu has fit right in with Minnesota’s backcourt in his first three games in a Timberwolves uniform. He’s averaging 14.7 points and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 38.5 percent from three in 28 minutes per game with the Wolves. He’s breathed some much-needed life into the Wolves bench with his pace and space style that fits nicely with Naz Reid and Bones Hyland.
Hyland is averaging 19.8 minutes since the Wolves traded Conley. He played 26 minutes against Toronto and 30 minutes in the loss to the Clippers. He’s averaging 13.2 points and three assists on 50 percent from three in those five games. Add in Jaylen Clark‘s minutes, and the return of Terrence Shannon Jr. and Mike Conley will be hard-pressed to find the court in his return to Minnesota.
His locker-room role will be more important than his limited one on the court for the Timberwolves to contend for a championship. Conley has always acted as an assistant coach on the court, and the Wolves will need to rely on his veteran savvy in the savage West playoffs. Just look at how sad his teammates were when they found out he was being traded and how happy they are he’s back to see what he means to this team.
Minnesota originally traded for him to teach Anthony Edwards, Karl-Anthony Towns, and the young Wolves how to play alongside Rudy Gobert. Now he’ll be tasked with keeping the Wolves mentally sharp during the dog days of the NBA season.
The Wolves will need Mike Conley to help avoid another loss like the four-point defeat to New Orleans on February 6. The Timberwolves held an 18-point lead in the third quarter against a Pelicans team that is unintentionally near the bottom of the Western Conference standings.
However, as is Minnesota’s M.O., they let up in the third and fourth quarters, acting as if they had already beaten an inferior team. The Pelicans whittled Minnesota’s lead away by causing turnovers and attacking Minnesota’s leaky defense until New Orleans handed the Wolves one of their worst losses of the season. Conley’s calming demeanor should hopefully help alleviate some of these issues that have caused Minnesota to stumble this season.
Mike Conley’s return to the Timberwolves is largely symbolic. In three and a half years, Conley has become one of the most popular Timberwolves ever, and his teammates would do anything to get him his elusive first championship at the twilight of his career.