NBA Rumors: Grizzlies Interest In Morant Hints End Of Conley Era

The Memphis Grizzlies are on rebuild mode and that includes a changing of the guard. Mike Conley has served for several years but a forgettable 2018-19 NBA season has led to a team revamp. Marc Gasol is already gone, now with the Toronto Raptors and Conley would have followed as well had a trade deal fallen through last February.

Conley is still officially around although that is expected to change this summer. As mentioned in a previous report, the Utah Jazz are reportedly poised to make another run at the 31-year-old guard and seem likely to succeed. With the impending exit of the fourth overall pick of the 2007 NBA Draft, the consensus is that the logical choice to be made by the Grizzlies will be Murray State hero Ja Morant.

Memphis holds the rights to the second overall pick of the 2019 NBA Draft and could use that to select Morant. Aside from Zion Williamson, the only other name that the Grizzlies could go after would be R.J. Barrett. But with their need for a new and young guard, the 19-year-old is the obvious best selection in this year's batch of hopefuls. In fact, Morant has already met with the Pelicans - further supporting the belief that he will be their guy next month.

For those who may not be familiar with Morant, he is a player that comes with OKC Thunders' Russell Westbrook's electricity and the passing savvy of Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers. He looms as the player any team in need of a floor general would want on the team. He also knows how to work the pick-and-roll game very well with the Grizzlies frontline - particularly Jaren Jackson Jr., CBS Sports reported.

With two young stars in the mix, the Grizzlies are expected to skim the market for other players to join the fray. With the Jazz expected to dangle another offer, there could be new faces coming in - preferably the young and promising ones. Other than that, there is the free agent market to check out where plenty of top names are expected to be available.

Some potential targets suggested by the Bleacher Report include Kelly Oubre Jr., Delon Wright, Stanley Johnson, and Jordan Bell. Whoever the target would largely depend on the fate of Conley. Memphis needs to clear some salary space and trading off Conley's remaining two years of his five-year $153 million pact will be crucial.