Chris Finch said benching veteran guard Mike Conley from the Minnesota Timberwolves rotation has been "one of the hardest things" in his coaching career, adding that it almost feels like "a crime against humanity."
Veteran point guard Mike Conley has barely seen the floor for the Minnesota Timberwolves recently.
Mike Conley
Mike Conley
Mike Conley
MIN: 17.83
PTS: 4.15 (43.3%)
REB: 1.7
AS: 2.85
ST: 0.55
BL: 0.26
TO: 0.57
GM: 47
The 38-year-old has not played double-digit minutes in a game since Feb. 22 against the Philadelphia 76ers. Since then, he has appeared in two more games but logged only 10 total minutes.
Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch admitted that taking Conley out of the rotation has been extremely difficult.
"It's been one of the hardest things I've ever done in coaching, to be honest with you," he told reporters. "Particularly with who he is as a person and a professional, and everything that he's done for us. Feels like a crime against humanity.
"He is the ultimate professional, and we still communicate with him about it. ... It's been hard choices."
Conley was briefly traded to the Chicago Bulls in February before returning to Minnesota.
This season, the veteran guard is averaging a career-low 17.8 minutes per game in 47 appearances (nine starts). He is also posting career lows with 4.1 points and 2.9 assists per game.
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