Mike Conley spent his All-Star break in Cabo San Lucas with his family, where he got to enjoy a little beach time and some golfing.
Mike Conley on extension with Timberwolves: ‘This organization is headed in the right direction’
Conley said winning was his No. 1 priority when deciding where to spend the next stage of his career, and he found that in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 23, 2024 at 2:15PM
“Didn’t play well,” Conley said.
But while there, he also got a little business done when he agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $20.75 million overall to stay in Minnesota.
The deal provided security for each side, with the Wolves knowing who their point guard will be for the next two years and security for Conley and his family knowing they won’t have to uproot and move again after coming to Minnesota from Utah last season in a trade.
But the deal was also significant for what it signaled about the state of the Wolves. Here is a longtime, 36-year-old NBA veteran opting to spend what might turn out to be his last best years of basketball with the Wolves, because they are an organization he wants to be around that gives him a great chance to win. And in NBA circles Conley was perceived to have signed for less money than he could have gotten on the open market.
“This organization is headed in the right direction,” Conley said after Thursday’s practice. “It’s got good people leading the way, people with great intentions and are trying to build a team that can compete for years to come. Give fans something to be excited about. So, organizations like this you don’t want to pass up on.”
Conley said winning was his No. 1 priority in deciding where he wanted to be in his future. A championship has evaded Conley despite several successful years and playoff appearances across his time in Memphis, Utah and last season with the Wolves, who are the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference ahead of Friday’s home game against Milwaukee.
“It’s amazing how everything has kind of worked out and shaked out so far,” Conley said. “I don’t think any of us could’ve imagined a year ago that we’d necessarily be sitting where we’re at right now and the fashion that we’ve done it, as quickly as we’ve done it.
“But that’s what we want and what we’ve been working toward all summer. All preseason, the goals we’ve had. We just went out there and done it on a nightly basis. I’m excited but not super surprised.”
Odd scheduling
The Wolves have seven straight home games coming out of the All-Star break with the odd way the schedule is structured. They have three sets of back-to-backs among those seven games, beginning Friday against Milwaukee and Saturday against Brooklyn.
That will cause the Wolves to have a slightly different rhythm to how they prepare for games. Conley joked that he prepares for back-to-backs by trying to not to think about them.
“I just find a way through it,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll have some discussions here or there on what makes sense on certain days. But depending on how the body feels and what we got going on, for the most part, man, I show up and hoop and worry about it later.”
Center Rudy Gobert said at least this set of back-to-back games are at home, which players prefer over having to travel in between games.
“Back-to-back at home is not exactly the same as a back-to-back when you have to fly until 2 a.m., get to another city and go to sleep at 4 or 5 a.m.,” Gobert said. “You get to go home from the game, go to sleep a little earlier. Hopefully we’re able to recover the right way and be able to play to the best of our abilities.”
The Wolves are coming off back-to-back losses in Portland and are on a three-game losing streak.
