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MINNEAPOLIS — By this point, Mike Conley has gotten used to these games.
The greetings with old teammates at center court, the handshakes with old coaches, the laughs with old friends. Saturday was the first time Conley faced his old team since being traded in February.
"They all kind of feel the same," Conley said. "You get excited to see some familiar faces and compete against them. It's fun."
It was for him, at least. Conley had 7 points and six assists as Minnesota blasted the Jazz 123-95 Saturday at Target Center.
It was a classic Conley performance — steady, unassuming and effective. It's what the Timberwolves were hoping for when they traded for him last winter, and what the Jazz, truthfully, have been lacking ever since from a lead guard.
"It was really refreshing to have him here," said Rudy Gobert, Conley's teammate both then and now. "He has had a big impact on the team and the locker room."
That news didn't come as as surprise; Conley helped keep things cordial as tensions rose during the end of the Rudy Gobert-Donovan Mitchell era, and, last season, helped a young team and coach find its footing.
"Mike was a massive sort of safety blanket for our team and most importantly for me," Jazz coach Will Hardy said.
Conley still keeps in contact with most of his former teammates; he and Kelly Olynyk are even in the same fantasy football league — it's a dynasty league, too, so there is year-round chatter there.
"He sends me trades every day," Conley said with a smile.
Conley then admitted: "He's got the team right now. I am in a rebuilding stage."
In some ways, that's the opposite of their teams on the court. Minnesota is trying to win now — that's why it traded for Gobert, and why it made a move for Conley soon after. And that's why Utah was willing to part with the veteran point guard who meant so much to a young team.
Saturday's game gave Conley a chance to reflect on the night of the trade — a trade that occurred moments before, coincidentally enough, the Jazz and Timberwolves were set to tip off.
"It was the weirdest day of my life, for sure," Conley said. "Normally, you get a second to decompress after something like that goes down, but as soon as I was traded, I walked over and I met everybody on the Timberwolves side."
Before he had a chance to tell his kids what was happening or even compute what was happening, he was shaking hands with his new teammates. It was strange.
"It was just super weird scenario," Conley said. "And then they get on the bus with me the next morning; I thought I would have like two days. I came home, got a little bag, and ready to go, so it was a unique, unique situation."
It was one that ended a special time in his career. Conley and his family returned to Utah over the summer for a visit, and his wife and kids were back in October to visit what they now consider lifelong friends.
"The community really welcomed us with open arms," Conley said. "My family and I had nothing but great experiences from being here. … Just everybody in general was just so welcoming and supportive through the years we were there.
"Utah's gonna have a special place for the remainder of my life."
