Grizzlies' Conley requires season-ending heel surgery
The Memphis Grizzlies announced in an email to their season-ticket holders that point guard Mike Conley will require season-ending heel surgery "to smooth a small bone protrusion," according to Grizzlies.com's Michael Wallace.
"Mike has been extremely diligent as we pursued multiple different approaches to alleviate the pain before deciding surgery was the best solution," Grizzlies general manager Chris Wallace wrote.
Conley has been sidelined since mid-November after making just 12 appearances. He averaged 17.1 points, 4.1 assists, and one steal per game.
Despite the loss of one of the franchise's pillars, Wallace insisted the front office would "remain aggressive in evaluating opportunities to improve our team, whether that’s through player development, the NBA draft, free agency or trades."
The 17-31 Grizzlies are eight games back in the standings from the eighth-seeded Denver Nuggets, which almost certainly means their seven-season playoff streak is destined to come to an end this spring. The last time a Grizzlies squad failed to make the playoffs was 2010.
If the season ended right now, the Grizzlies would own the sixth-highest odds of winning the 2018 draft lottery at 6.3 percent, according to Tankathon.