Salt Lake City, Utah, USA; Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) bring the ball up the court against the Utah Jazz during the second half at Delta Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Mandatory Credit: Rob Gray-Imagn Images
Much of the talk regarding the Boston Celtics’ offseason has been about the shocking Jaylen Brown–Paul George trade, but they have made some other notable moves as well. Interestingly, the Celtics chose to sign Mike Conley, and The Athletic’s Jon Krawczynski explained why the veteran point guard wanted to go to Boston during an appearance on Celtics Daily.
“In talking to Mike a little bit and talking to people around him and around the organization, what appealed to him about Boston was A) he’s never been in the Eastern Conference,” Krawczynski said. “But B) I was told that Mike really wanted to at least spend one year playing for a flagship franchise.”
The 2026-27 NBA season will be Conley’s 20th, and it’ll be the first in which he has played for an iconic franchise. The Memphis Grizzlies had selected him with the No. 4 pick in the 2007 NBA Draft, and he spent his first 12 seasons with them.
Conley then spent three and a half seasons with the Utah Jazz and the Minnesota Timberwolves before signing with the Celtics. The Grizzlies, Jazz, and Timberwolves are solid franchises, but none of them have won a championship.
As for the Celtics, they have won a record 18 championships. Conley signed a one-year, $3.9 million veteran minimum deal with them and wants to see what it’s like to play for such a franchise.
“It’s nothing against the Grizzlies or the Jazz or the Wolves, but none of those teams are in royalty with the NBA,” Krawczynski said. “The Boston Celtics are historic. They have a history and a gravitas about them that Conley wanted to experience what it was like playing for that kind of a franchise with that kind of a fanbase, with just a lore about them.
“And so I also know that he has a lot of respect for Joe Mazzulla and for the way that he coaches and the way that he goes about things,” Krawczynski continued. “And so he wanted to just at least once in his career see what it was like to be at the very top end of the pecking order when it comes to NBA franchises.
“And so I think he’s really looking forward to just being in that organization, being in that building every night and just seeing what the differences are with that kind of a franchise versus the ones that he’s used to playing with,” Krawczynski added.
Krawczynski, who covers the Timberwolves, also mentioned that Minnesota wanted to bring Conley back. Now, the 38-year-old only averaged 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.3 blocks per game in 2025-26, but they valued his presence, and head coach Chris Finch leaned on him during games and practices.
Conley won’t have a huge impact with his play on the court for the Celtics, but he will be impactful off it. President of basketball operations Brad Stevens alluded to that as well when he spoke about what the one-time All-Star will bring to their team.
“People talk about veteran leadership, and they talk about how important vets are, and my argument to that would be good vets are really important,” Stevens said. “Guys that really have a great understanding of where they are in their career, how they impact winning, and the appropriate amount of expectations from the individual standpoint. And I think that’s what you get with Mike.”
The Celtics are coming off a campaign in which they somehow exceeded expectations and disappointed at the same time. They shockingly finished with a 56-26 record to grab the second seed in the Eastern Conference, but then blew a 3-1 lead and lost to the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.
Following that stunning setback, the Celtics traded Brown to the 76ers for George, two first-round picks, and two second-round picks. They also signed Mitchell Robinson along with Conley, and it will be interesting to see whether they can improve on last season.