The Jazz have to re-sign Mike Conley.
Have to.
Not should.
Must.
There are alternatives, but none that aren’t difficult or farfetched.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a column discussing the problems with the Conley re-signing on the Jazz’s end, what with the point guard’s durability issues over the past two seasons. At that time, it was pretty clear that, despite the risks, they should pay the man.
After giving it more thought, examining the Jazz’s situation, their financials and the tightness created by them, and talking to insiders and experts, they and I agree the downside …
Does. Not. Matter.
It matters, but not as it pertains to whether the Jazz should do whatever they can to keep him in the fold.
They should.
They must.
They need a quarterback. Every team does, but some, including the Jazz, need one more than others.
The Jazz’s particular roster, talent and their offensive philosophies require a setup man, a player who can facilitate their two most preferred shots — 3-pointers and scores at the rim.
Starting with the latter, Rudy Gobert cannot function on the attack, other than getting offensive boards on his own, without someone like Conley. Joe Ingles can run pick and roll with Gobert and otherwise feed him the ball. But Conley is even more important doing that, especially against certain defenses that call for a player who can break them down with both play- and shot-making.
Conley also takes pressure off a running mate like Donovan Mitchell, who can score the ball off the bounce and/or stop and pop, but who also needs someone else to draw away defensive pressure.
Nobody’s sure whether a fully healthy Conley would have made the difference against the Clippers, what with their long defenders and versatile scorers.
He might have.
Shooters shoot better when they catch and shoot, and after he struggled to adapt and adjust to what the Jazz were doing during his first season in Utah, he came around to smoothing everything that was happening, everything that was supposed to happen, getting those shooters the ball.
And there’s more.
Conley’s effect on the Jazz locker room was and would be beyond settling. It was true on the court and off it. He didn’t earn the award for best teammate in the NBA multiple times for nothing. That kind of feeling for a player doesn’t just happen. Conley’s generated it.
And that positive influence would be useful for the Jazz, from where they’re coming after an extremely difficult ending to a season that was expected to end differently. If a club ever needed some bucking up before they go at it again, it’s this team at this time.
Conley would be a big part of that, maybe even making Mitchell feel better about not just his own competitive doldrums, but also the club’s prospects for a more promising future.
It’s not just Mitchell. Many of the Jazz are bumming right now, and not just the players. Darn near everybody associated with the team. Losing one of their favorite guys would brighten their outlooks not at all.
Question is: Does he want to stay?
There’s likely to be other suitors who will jack up the cost of retaining Conley. But since the Jazz have his Bird Rights, they can go into the luxury tax to sign him, and would lose the opportunity to spend that same money on a free agent because they’re already over the cap.
So, it makes sense to keep him for all those reasons, and more.
Most importantly, it would be a key ingredient in the Jazz arming themselves for another run at something potentially extraordinary, and even if it were just kind of ordinary, it would be much better than barreling ahead without him.
Everybody needs a quarterback. And the Jazz need one more than almost anybody else.
GORDON MONSON hosts “The Big Show” with Jake Scott weekdays from 2-7 p.m. on 97.5 FM and 1280 AM The Zone, which is owned by the parent company that owns the Utah Jazz.
