Conley’s Faith Kept Him Focused; Knew He Was Meant To Play For Jazz
Jul 8, 2019, 3:44 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – The Utah Jazz worked very hard to get Mike Conley from the Memphis Grizzlies to Salt Lake City.
The rumors surfaced in February at the NBA trade deadline that the Jazz and Grizzlies were trying to work out a deal to get Conley in Utah, but the deal never happened.
He then had to go through the rest of the regular season with a team that was trying to trade him and were not going to make the playoffs.
That’s when Conley relied on his faith.
“Faith is big in our family,” Conley said. “For me, I was never able to get distracted with all of the things that were going on last season. Strictly because of that foundation, being able to believe regardless and have faith regardless of what’s in front of me.”
📹| @mconley11, this is Utah.
Utah, this is @mconley11 ❤️
"It's just cool to finally have both feet planted and know that this is home." pic.twitter.com/i8Yxd64AAx
— Utah Jazz (@utahjazz) July 7, 2019
Conley finished the 2018-19 season averaging a career-high 21.1 points, along with 6.4 assists, 3.4 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game.
He prepared himself of the possibility to play for the Jazz when the rumors swirled around him in February.
“It got me prepared, knowing that the opportunity was possible,” Conley said. “I didn’t know if it was going to happen in February or not. After the deadline passed I knew that things would pick up again. So, my mind was thinking of what it would be like to live here and Utah was the forefront of the trade discussions. I was just preparing myself for it and now I am just ready to live it.”
When the trade didn’t happen in February, Conley remained hopeful to join the Jazz at the end of the season.
“I never felt discouraged,” Conley stated. “I am the type of person that always that thinks that things are going to work out regardless of the situation. Ultimately, full circle, I am here now. It didn’t work out in February, but I made it here and it’s going to be a great place for my family and I. My kids are in Salt Lake right now with my wife getting used to it. We are all just very excited.”
