Minnesota Timberwolves guard Mike Conley (10) dribbles the ball up court in the first quarter against the Denver Nuggets during game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at Ball Arena.
Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images
The Minnesota Timberwolves retooled their roster this offseason, trading for LaMelo Ball and signing Jonathan Kuminga in free agency. While those are solid additions, the Timberwolves might feel the sting from losing veteran point guard Mike Conley to the Boston Celtics, and for much more than simply what he brought on the court.
Mike Conley reportedly signed with the Celtics in free agency because he wanted to experience playing for a marquee franchise before he retires, and his absence is going to leave a void on the Timberwolves’ roster, especially for Anthony Edwards, as per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic.
“He ingratiates so much trust from his teammates because of the way he goes about it and because of all that he’s seen in this league,” Krawczynski said during a recent segment of ‘The Celtics Daily Podcast’ with Bobby Manning. “Anthony Edwards, I swear every game you would walk into the Timberwolves locker room after the game, Ant is sitting right next to Mike and they’re going over everything that happened and what Mike saw that Ant could have done better or what he liked.
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“He is a guy who just really has a perfect way of delivering messages that help raise a player’s performance, whether Mike is on the floor helping him do that or just on the bench or in the locker room steering him in the right direction as well.”
Conley’s on-court production slipped this past season. He appeared in 54 games, including 15 starts while averaging a career-lows of 4.5 points, 1.7 rebounds and 2.9 assists, and shooting 33.5 percent from the field, also a career low.
But as seen with the Wolves, he still brings a strong locker room presence and commands respect from his teammates.