Grizzlies point guard Mike Conley said Monday he wants to see what Memphis does to keep winning before he commits to re-sign with the team.
"We need to be committed to doing the things, whatever it may be and however hard the decision may be, to do the right things in order to get us where we need to go," Conley said a day after the Grizzlies were swept in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs.
He said the ideal scenario would be re-signing with the Grizzlies, saying of Memphis: "This city is all I know."
Conley, 28, is heading to free agency for the first time in his career, presenting the Grizzlies with the same situation as a year ago when Marc Gasol became a free agent. Gasol agreed to a new contract pretty quickly last July after talking with Conley, whose own commitment to the Grizzlies played a major factor in Gasol's decision.
Conley said Monday that his decision is different than the one Gasol had to make, as the Grizzlies are in a different situation this year than they were in 2015 when they took the eventual champion Golden State Warriors to six games in the Western Conference semifinals.
Grizzlies coach Dave Joerger said Monday he was confident Conley will decide to stay in Memphis, just as he was confident Gasol would remain with the team last offseason.
Conley led the NBA in assist-to-turnover ratio despite not playing after March 6 because of Achilles tendinitis in his left foot. Conley plans to continue healing up and said his summer will be fun.
While Conley's future in Memphis is uncertain, Vince Carter said Monday he plans on returning next season.
Carter has another year on his contract, but he turns 40 in January. He played 60 games this season for Memphis and averaged 6.6 points per game. He started all four games of the playoffs against San Antonio.
"I plan on coming back," Carter said. "I feel good, body feels good, that's all I got. We'll still just go through the summer and it's when I don't feel like training, or I lose the passion I have for playing, then it's time to walk away."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.