5 free agency destinations for Mike Conley
By John Buhler
. East. Central. Indiana Pacers. 2. player. 100
It’s about time for the Indiana Pacers to upgrade their play at point guard. George Hill is a nice player and has done good things for his hometown Pacers, but if head coach Frank Vogel and small forward Paul George want to bring an NBA Championship to the Hoosier State, they’ll need a near All-Star caliber player running their offense.
Indiana gravitates towards being a strong defensive team, frankly because of their limitations offensively. Hill frequently turns the ball over and they don’t exactly get a ton of points from the center position in Vogel’s offensive game plan. If Indiana wants to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals again in the next year or two, going after Memphis Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley could make the Pacers a title contender overnight.
Conley pairing with George would give the Pacers a higher ceiling than they had when David West and Roy Hibbert were on the team. Those Pacers teams went to two straight Eastern Conference Finals, but couldn’t get past LeBron James and the Miami Heat.
Conley already comes from a great defensive-minded program in Memphis, but is still a gifted player at point guard offensively. He’ll be able to create plays for not only George and shooting guard Monta Ellis, but probably would improve the scoring opportunities in the low post for his frontcourt players. Not to mention, Conley is gifted at attacking the rim and creating his own shot off the dribble.
By joining the Pacers in the Eastern Conference, Conley would become a top three point guard in the conference, vying for bragging rights with Kyle Lowry, Kyrie Irving, and John Wall. Conley to Indiana has to get the hardwood hopefuls in the Hoosier State even more excited for Pacers basketball as soon as 2016-17. This could be a power shift in the Eastern Conference hierarchy if Conley goes to Indianapolis to play for the Pacers.
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