Mike Conley Agrees to Join the Celtics: Is He a Fantasy Basketball Sleeper?
The month of July has come around, and NBA free agency has run wild. The signings on July 1 have been endless, keeping NBA insiders working overtime. With the information given, we translate the news into our own language: fantasy basketball. The latest report indicates that Mike Conley has agreed to sign with the Boston Celtics. What does that mean? Let's find out.
Mike Conley Agrees to Join Celtics
Conley plans to join the Celtics, playing in his 20th NBA season. He will be the 14th player in NBA history ever to play that long. The signing definitely makes fans wonder as they got an 'ancient' point guard. However, Conley will go to Boston with a role to serve.
The Celtics have Payton Pritchard as their point guard. At times, Derrick White will also play that role. That said, Conley is the listed backup point guard and will play limited minutes.
The projection for Conley will be that of 15-20 minutes per game. When on the court, he will not be a high-usage player but rather a play-caller and passer. Conley is playing chess to get to his king, that is, Jayson Tatum.
Conley is not far removed from good basketball. In 2022 up to 2024 with the Timberwolves, Conley averaged just about 30 minutes per game and over 12 points per game. His shooting percentage has suffered, most recently shooting 33.5% in 2025-26. Conley's strength lies in his >90% free-throw percentage.
Conley's strengths will be his passing and free-throw shooting. He has an assist rate of 28.8% with the Timberwolves in 2025-26. That rate should rise with the Celtics, in which Joe Mazzulla will ensure the ball is fed to Tatum and Jaylen Brown (if he returns).
It is factual to say that Conley will have no fantasy basketball viability. The only times he will be useful are in daily fantasy basketball as a sleeper in blowout potential games. He will then be viable when/if Pritchard is injured.
The beneficiaries in this matter are Boston's best players. Tatum and Brown get an elite, veteran point guard. Conley will feed his guys with precision as he has done for years on end. Boston fans, be happy for the low-risk addition of Conley.
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Thomas Carelli is a sportswriter based on Northern New Jersey. He is a massive New York Jets and Mets fan, but that is not where is sports fandom stops. He loves to watch and play golf, all things football, baseball, and much more. If he can watch it, he will. Thomas graduated from William Paterson University in 2018 with a Bachelor's Degree in Sport Management. He spent 4 years working at a local golf course, volunteered past PGA events, and spent some part-time experience with the New York Jets events team. His passions for sport runs deep and his articles show for it.