Mike Conley, T-Wolves Agree to 2-Year, $21M Contract Extension to Avoid 2024 NBA FA
Joseph Zucker@@JosephZucker
Featured Columnist IVFebruary 19, 2024
The Minnesota Timberwolves and point guard Mike Conley agreed to a two-year, $21 million extension, his agents confirmed to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Conley was due to hit free agency in the offseason. Bobby Marks of ESPN noted the ramifications of extending him now:
Conley has been an excellent addition to Minnesota since he arrived ahead of the 2022 trade deadline. Through 74 appearances, he's averaging 11.7 points and 6.0 assists while shooting 43.5 percent from the field.
The 36-year-old was almost immediately a seamless fit next to big men Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert, and he's a nice complement to young guard Anthony Edwards in the backcourt.
Sheldon Wohlman @3swohlmanI asked <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Timberwolves?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Timberwolves</a> guard Mike Conley about his two-man game with Rudy Gobert<br><br>Conley: "I think it's great because I think our two man game is not just about me and Rudy… coach wanted me to run it a thousand times tonight. I don't try to wear it out." <a href="https://t.co/7DCQFcH2tT">pic.twitter.com/7DCQFcH2tT</a>
Pre-empting Conley's free agency is a major win for the Timberwolves. A guard with his experience who's playing at this level was sure to have a reasonably strong market if he had hit free agency.
Given its payroll situation, Minnesota didn't want a bidding war to emerge. Without accounting for Conley's salary, the franchise already has $175.8 million committed.
Going into the second apron will bind the hands of president of basketball operations Tim Connelly a bit moving forward, but that's a necessary step to keep this roster together.
The Wolves are first in the Western Conference at 39-16. Maybe they come undone in the postseason, but there probably wasn't a better option than Conley out there at point guard beyond 2023-24 given Minnesota's financial constraints.
Ownership is also sending a message it's willing to spend when the organization theoretically has an open championship window, which wasn't always the case with the previous regime.