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With the trade deadline fast approaching, the Utah Jazz and the Memphis Grizzlies have reportedly entered negotiations in a potentially franchise-altering deal centered around Ricky Rubio and Mike Conley.
Utah has had exploratory discussions with Memphis on a potential swap headlined by Mike Conley and Ricky Rubio in advance of next week's trade deadline, according to league sources.
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 1, 2019
The Jazz currently have a 29-23 record, and are sitting gingerly on the seventh spot in a ruthless Western Conference. There are a number of other teams that are breathing down their necks, as the race to the Playoffs heats up. It appears that Utah are not fully contended with the makeup of their current roster, and may be looking for an upgrade at the one spot.
Conley arguably fist the bill in this respect, but it remains to be seen how his game will mesh with the unique style of play the Jazz have established. The 31-year-old is currently on the third year of his five-year, $153 million deal and he is owed roughly $66 million over the next couple of seasons. This will eat up a considerable portion of Utah's cap room, so this will potentially be an extremely expensive experiment.
For their part, the Grizzlies (20-32, second to the last in the West) appear set on moving on to the next phase of their organization, with the Marc Gasol-Mike Conley era likely to come to a close soon. By dumping Conley's huge contract and acquiring Rubio's expiring deal, this potential trade deal might be one that is focused on freeing up cap space for the upcoming summer free-agency free-for-all.
To be clear, nothing is official yet, but we will be sure to monitor this situation and pass along any new information as they come.
