Mike Conley returning to Jazz on three-year, $68M deal

The Jazz have reached an agreement with free agent point guard Mike Conley Jr. on a three-year contract, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

According to Charania, the deal is worth $68M. Agents Steve Heumann and Jess Holtz of CAA Basketball told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski the contract is worth $72.5M (Twitter link), suggesting that it could include incentives or bonuses.

A report surfaced over the weekend that Jazz were on track to lock up the veteran on a three-year deal. Bringing him back was Utah’s top offseason priority.

As a team with luxury tax concerns, the Jazz needed to shed salary to improve that situation and retain Conley. Utah lined up a deal to dump a contract last week, having reportedly agreed to trade Derrick Favors to Oklahoma City.

Conley, 33, struggled in his first year in Utah in 2019-20, but the longtime Grizzlies guard turned things around this past season, averaging 16.2 PPG, 6.0 APG, and 3.5 RPG with a .444/.412/.852 shooting line in 51 games (29.4 MPG). He earned his first All-Star appearance in his 14th NBA season.

Conley was forced to miss games during the postseason due to a hamstring injury, which led to a disappointing finish for a team that had the league’s best regular season record.