Mike Conley was a beloved player during his three-and-a-half-year tenure with the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was an important part of two conference finals runs, instilling valuable leadership in Anthony Edwards while making an impactas a stabilizing playmaker. Unfortunately, the 38-year-old point guard has declined immensely and is no longer an everyday rotation player.
It might have taken the Timberwolves a while to realize this, but after the All-Star break, Conley was out of the rotation. Now, injuries eventually forced Conley back into the rotation. Overall, though, he averaged 4.5 points and 2.9 assists on 33.5/33.7/90 shooting splits last season.
Conley signed with the Boston Celtics this offseason. Given Boston's lack of guard depth, Conley could have a regular role off the bench. If this is the case, the Celtics will sadly figure out that giving Conley rotational minutes at this stage of his career comes with some clear consequences and that he's best served as a depth piece.
Mike Conley unfortunately is no longer a rotation-level player
Currently, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, and Mike Conley are the Celtics' only three point guards. That doesn't inherently mean that Conley has to play. Regardless, if the Celtics want to start Pritchard alongside, which would make sense given the strides he's taken in the past few seasons, they'll need some extra ball-handling and playmaking off the bench. In turn, this could give Conley a path to minutes.
As the Wolves learned last season, though, playing Conley regular minutes isn't ideal when you're trying to compete for a title.
The Timberwolves' need for point guard play was much more glaring, and that kept Conley in the rotation for longer than he would've been with other teams.
In any event, last season showcased some of Conley's severe limitations. His lack of advantage creation and suddenly shaky shooting make it difficult for him to make a positive impact on offense despite his high basketball IQ. Defensively, he can still occasionally make an impact off the ball, but he's prone to getting back-cut off the ball, and he is highly huntable on the ball.
This combination makes him a net negative on the court. And if the Celtics are counting on him for meaningful minutes, they'll be in for a rude awakening. It wouldn't be shocking if Conley starts in the Celtics rotation before Joe Mazzulla pulls the plug on his minutes.
With that being said, Conley is a fantastic veteran leader, and he's had an amazing career. If the Celtics view him as a depth piece and leader who can play minutes in case of an emergency, then he can make a positive impact; it'll just be more so behind-the-scenes. Again, though, the on-court impact is unfortunately not there anymore for Conley.
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