Returning or Moving On? – Will Conroy

Possibly part of the biggest trade in Vipers history, the Will Conroy acquisition turned out to be quite a steal. Nothing against Kurt Looby, who really failed to take that huge step forward that could have had him in the NBA by February, but I don't know that the Vipers win the Championship without Conroy. Of course, you can probably say that about a number of individual players, but there's no doubt in my mind that Conroy made everyone on the Vipers better. Yeah, they were 10-3 before acquiring Conroy, but five regular season triple-doubles and two GATORADE Call-Ups don't exactly say complimentary part. Heck, he had another triple-double in the game one Finals win at Tulsa, not to mention the half-court shot that swung all of the momentum and the lead towards the Vipers.

Conroy could do a lot of things, but I think his biggest asset was making guys better, including Mike Harris, who was really good before the first GATORADE Call-Up, but brought his game to an incomparable level once teamed up with Conroy.

Statistically speaking, it's hard to argue that this was Conroy's best season based on the gaudy numbers he put up in Albuquerque last year (26.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 44.7 minutes per game), but I intend to make that argument.

During the 2008-09 season, Conroy was told to do it all for the Thunderbirds. He wasn't selfish, he was just executing the game plan. Coach Finch had a better game plan for Conroy, and therefore better results. Conroy finished with 16.1 points, 6.1 rebounds and 10.0 assists per game. The points were down but the shooting percentage was up in all three categories, meaning Conroy was taking fewer shots, but better shots. The rebounds were up because the Vipers took a lot of three points and also didn't have a true center for much of the season. The biggest thing is the assists were up because Conroy was making all of his teammates better.

Conroy also had to play against better competition this year. I think that's the thing that really sticks out to me about Conroy throughout his career.

Think about it. This was Conroy's fifth season in the NBA Development League. He's always been one of the best point guards in the league, but he has gotten a little better every year. That is incredibly difficult to do considering the talent of the league has gotten exponentially better every year. Had the talent level remained the same, Conroy would either be averaging 50 points per game or he would have become stagnant. Instead, Conroy has risen to the challenge to keep up with the competition.

What that says to me is that, given the chance, Conroy can be a capable NBA player.

During his career, Conroy has earned four GATORADE Call-Ups, but he's never had a serious chance to play. No extended minutes, just end of the bench rotation minutes.

Conroy's a good person. Great to have around the community and a natural leader on and off the court. There are a number of teams that could use him. He's probably held back by the fact he's a point guard. He's the guy that has to know all of the plays. Playing for the Vipers, when he went up to the Rockets he already knew all of the plays and could step in easily during Kyle Lowry's absence, but still didn't get big minutes. To be fair, during the minutes he did get, Conroy did not play very well. My point is, though, why would a team give him minutes if he's not familiar with their play already? Most teams want to have two established points guards who have been there all year, which is why I think, if Conroy does not break NBA Training Camp with an NBA team, he's going to look overseas.

I do think Conroy will be with someone during October. But if he doesn't parlay that into a contract, I have a feeling that's it. Remember, he had no intention of going back to Albuquerque this year. He tried to make a team in China, but didn't make the cut (Chinese teams have a limit of how many out of country players they can sign, I think it's two, and they usually save those spots for big men). Certainly there are plenty of European destinations for Conroy, though, and I'm sure Coach Finch could help him find one.

Conroy was willing to come back to the NBA Development League only to play for the Vipers because the Rockets had interest in bringing him up. Would he do it again for the promise of two 10-day contracts? I don't know. We'll have to see what happens with the Lowry free agent situation (the Rockets have said they intend to bring him back) and whether or not the Rockets are the team to invite him to camp.

One interesting possibility is the New Jersey Nets. I wrote a while back I thought they should call up Conroy. I still think he'd be a major upgrade for their point guard situation. Now that they're likely out of the John Wall sweepstakes by not getting the #1 pick in the NBA Draft, maybe Conroy can become an option to play with Devin Harris?