The NBA is just not ready to chill, as today news broke that Memphis is trading Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Kyle Korver, Jae Crowder, Grayson Allen, and some draft picks. This wasn't an unexpected move, but still a pretty major trade when you think about how open the league is right now.
The Jazz now have a legit runningmate to go along with Donovan Mitchell and Memphis clears the way to select Ja Morant tomorrow night, while also picking up the 23rd pick in this draft and a future first round pick. The ripple effects of this trade could be interesting, as you'd probably expect Memphis to waive Kyle Korver, which would make him able to sign anywhere. Looking at you, Lakers. With the news out, we broke down some winners and losers in the deal, which we will be doing for most trades going forward. We're ready for any and all Woj Bombs, folks.
Winner: Mike Conley
This is an easy one. Conley immediatly makes the Jazz better and they were already pretty good. With the West wide open next year, a core of Gobert, Mitchell and Conley is a legit threat going forward.
Loser: Ricky Rubio
Poor, Ricky. He never got fully appreciated in Utah and will now surley be moving on. Let's hope that he can catch on somewhere. He can definetely help a team next season.
Winner: Ja Morant
This trade means that the Memphis Grizzlies are Ja's team. He's a lock to go No. 2 in the draft to Memphis and they'll now hand him the reigns to the franchise on day one. Big shoes to fill, for sure.
Loser: Jae Crowder
You have to feel for BOSSMAN99. He always seems to be playing well on a team but STILL ends up getting traded at some point. Hopefully he can stick in Memphis, but would it shock anyone to see him moved again?
Winner: LeBron James & the Lakers
Yup, this is a win for LeBron and the Lakers. Why? Because there's probably a really good chance that his good buddy Kyle Korver will get bought out by Memphis and become a free agent. He'd be a perfect fit on the Lakers and would add immediate shooting to that roster.
Loser: The Western Conference
The West is going to be BRUTAL next season. Like way more brutal than it usually is. The arms race is on out West. The Jazz just made a huge upgrade and now other squads will have to catch up. Will be very interesting to see what the likes of Houston, Oklahoma City, and Portland do as an answer.
Winner: Donovan Mitchell
Donovan will be going into his third season come October and for the first time, he'll be playing with a legit All-Star caliber PG next to him. This Conley trade will only help the young superstar going forward.
Winner: Shams
He got Woj on this one. The true battle of the NBA summer is always Woj vs. Shams, and while Woj came out swinging by breaking the AD deal, Shams just got him back a little bit. Score one for Shams.
