Mike Conley traded to Utah Jazz after 12 seasons in Memphis

In a surprise move Wednesday morning, the Memphis Grizzlies traded point guard Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz in exchange for Grayson Allen, Jae Crowder and Kyle Korver, as well as the 23rd pick in tomorrow night’s NBA Draft and a future first-round pick. Conley, taken with the No. 4 pick by Memphis in 2007, had spent all 12 seasons in the NBA with the Grizzlies before the move, averaging just under 14.9 points and 5.7 assists per game.

Conley, who spent just one year at Ohio State before entering the draft, has never made an NBA All-Star team despite consistent production, while once making the NBA All-Defense team in the 2012-13 season. The veteran guard has shot a solid 44 percent from the field throughout his career, with a 38 percent mark from deep. Injuries have gotten the better of him recently, playing 70 games or more in a season just twice over the past five years. However, after returning from a heel injury that kept him out almost all of 2017-18, Conley returned to post a career-high 21.1 points per game in 2018-19.

Conley leaves Memphis as the franchise’s all-time leader in games (788), points (11,733), assists (4,509) and steals (1,161). With the trade, the Grizzlies will look to rebuild, which will almost certainly begin with them selecting Ja Morant with the No. 2 overall pick on Thursday. The Jazz, meanwhile, now possess a stellar combination of youth and experience in their backcourt with the duo of Conley and Donovan Mitchell.

It didn’t take long for Michael Thomas to burst onto the scene in the NFL. After falling all the way to the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft, finally being selected with the No. 47 overall pick by the New Orleans Saints, Thomas has already shown the teams that passed on him what a huge mistake they made. In just three seasons, Thomas is now one of the greatest wide receivers in the NFL, and is in all likelihood about to become the highest paid receiver in the league. A deal is expected to be reached before training camp.

Thomas is playing out the final year of his rookie deal he signed upon being drafted in 2016. Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis had previously acknowledged in an interview on Sirius XM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio that the team was having conversations regarding an extension, and it appears now that the two sides are inching closer to making it a reality. The current highest annual salary by a wide receiver is held by the Cleveland Browns’ Odell Beckham at $18 million a year. If the rumors are true, the 26-year-old Thomas should be looking at a deal that pays somewhere between $18-$19 million annually.

In 47 games with the Saints, Thomas has racked up almost 3,800 yards on 321 receptions with 23 touchdowns. This past season, Thomas set an NFL record for having the most receptions of any player through the first three years of their career. He also set the single-season Saints franchise record for receptions (125) and receiving yards (1,405) in 2018. The Ohio State product was a part of the National Championship team in 2014, and now, as a two-time Pro-Bowler at the next level, will look to get paid and continue to chase a Super Bowl with New Orleans.

“Haskins is the first football player to win the Ohio State’s Male Athlete of the Year award since Troy Smith in 2007 and the 10th overall.”

- Ohio State Athletics

Dwayne Haskins and Sade Olatoye have been named Ohio State’s Athletes of the Year, it was announced Wednesday. Haskins was named Ohio State’s Male Athlete of the Year as the Heisman Trophy finalist quarterback of the Buckeyes, while Olatoye was named the Female Athlete of the Year as an NCAA indoor track and field national champion. Both athletes will have their names placed on the ballots for Big Ten Athlete of the Year awards, with the conference announcing the winners sometime in the near future.

In just one season at Ohio State, Haskins proved he was one of the greatest quarterbacks in school history. Throwing for 4,831 yards and 50 touchdowns, Haskins broke 28 Ohio State and seven Big Ten records in 2018, including passing yards and touchdowns. In two of the Buckeyes biggest games of the season, a 62-39 win over Michigan and a 45-24 Big Ten Championship victory over Northwestern, Haskins threw for a combined 895 yards and 11 touchdowns with just one interception. He was taken at No. 15 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins.

Olatoye holds four Ohio State records, including both indoor and outdoor shot-put distance — 17.88m and 24.07m, respectively — as well as the weight throw (24.46m) and hammer throw (67.49m). Her weight throw record led to a national championship at the event, as well as being good for third-best all-time in NCAA history. A four-time first team All-American, Olatoye did not place lower than sixth in any meet she competed in during the 2019 outdoor season. She earned 16 gold medals in her senior season.

The Buckeyes will have a chance at producing the Big Ten Athlete of the Year for the third time in a row, with wrestler Kyle Snyder having taken home the honor each of the past two years.

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