Report: Spurs interest in point guard Mike Conley is overstated

With Tony Parker having two years left on his contract, bringing in Conley is reportedly not a priority for San Antonio

By Ananth Pandian

Jun 29, 2016 at 9:48 am ET • 1 min read

Since they got knocked out of the playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs have been reportedly planning on pursuing impending free agent Mike Conley. Memphis may have the inside track on Conley, but with several teams like the Spurs interested in his services, the Grizzlies guard is expected to field a number of different offers this summer.

However according to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Spurs may not actually be heavily pursing Conley in free agency:

Maybe the biggest Spurs development tonight: One well-placed source insists San Antonio's free-agent interest in Mike Conley is overstated.
— Marc Stein (@ESPNSteinLine) June 29, 2016

The Spurs may be reluctant to go after Conley because they still have Tony Parker, who is under contract for two more years. And even though Parker is getting older, he is still an excellent starting point guard.

Parker averaged 11.9 points on 49.3 percent shooting, while adding 5.3 assists per game in 2015-16. He has also been a key member of the Spurs system for 15 seasons, and Parker's knowledge of San Antonio's offense can not be dismissed that easily.

Sure, Parker is 34 years old and may not be as athletic as he once was, but he is still too vital of a player for the Spurs.

All of this is probably why, according to ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Parker's role in San Antonio is reportedly a worry for Conley:

on @1033fmESPN, @espn_macmahon said a source told him that Mike Conley has serious worries about going to the Spurs because of Tony Parker
— Tim Cato (@tim_cato) June 27, 2016

Conley's reported hesitancy when it comes to San Antonio is likely because he doesn't want to leave a major role in Memphis for a lesser one somewhere else. And because of Parker that could be the case in San Antonio.

The Spurs may have also quickly come to this realization as well, which is why their initial interest in Conley was "overstated."