In the absence of star point guard Mike Conley, the Memphis Grizzlies have quickly seen their season go south holding the second-worst record in the Western Conference through the first 38 games played.
Much of this has created much criticism filtering out of the Grizzlies fan base toward Conley, especially due to the fact he is in the second year of his lucrative five-year, $152.6 million deal. With that in mind, the 30-year-old recently told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated that he expects the criticism thrown in his direction.
“I expected to be criticized. I still expect to be criticized. One day I should be flipped over on my head. The next day it’s worth it. It’s just one of those deals that happens when you sign a big deal. You get a lot of criticism. A lot of responsibility. Eventually, you have to prove to people that you can do it.”
Although Conley has shown to have a tremendous impact on the team when he is on the floor, he has struggled mightily with staying healthy over the last couple of seasons. He is currently still out dealing with soreness in his Achilles tendon that has forced him to miss the last 25 straight games due to the injury. On top of that, there is still no timetable to when he will be back on the court.
It hasn't just been this season as he missed a sizeable chunk of games in the 2016-17 campaign due to a back injury that limited him to just 68 appearances. All of this created some sense of doubt toward the premise that he can stay healthy through the duration of an entire season at this point of his career.
This has also put into question whether he will be worth the rest of his deal that has him slated to make more than $30 million in each of the next three years that includes a $34.5 million player option for the 2020-21 season. The only thing that Conley can do is continue to work his way back onto the floor and prove that he is not only worth the massive contract he received but can also lead the Grizzlies to success.
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