Conley traded to Jazz

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The Memphis Grizzlies traded away the final piece of the franchise’s best years on Wednesday, sending veteran point guard Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz for a trio of players, a person familiar with the deal told The Associated Press.

The Grizzlies swapped Conley for forward Jae Crowder, guard/forward Kyle Korver and guard Grayson Allen, said the person, who spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because neither Memphis nor Utah has announced the trade, which cannot be completed until the new league year starts on July 6.

ESPN.com first reported the deal, which it says also includes Utah’s No. 23 pick overall in Thursday night’s draft.

The move almost certainly means that Ricky Rubio will be elsewhere next season, even after he averaged 12.7 points and 6.1 assists for the Jazz this season. Pairing Conley with rising star Donovan Mitchell figures to give the Jazz one of the best backcourts in the league next season and would seem to bolster Utah’s chances in a rapidly changing Western Conference.

The move also could make Memphis a major player in free agency for 2020, although much of that space hinges on what the team does to fill out a roster this summer.

He leaves with a handful of franchise records, including most games played (788) over his 12 seasons in Memphis. Conley, who turns 32 on Oct. 11, played only 12 games in 2017-18 because of a painful left heel that needed season-ending surgery. But Conley returned this last season to play 70 games and scored a career-best 21.1 points per game. He was just off his career highs with 6.4 assists per game and averaged 1.3 steals per game.