Conte (till now) has the problem of using just one formation. Conte needs to understand that 3-5-2 won't work all the time with all teams. Not to mention that, the driving forces of this formation who are mainly Pirlo, Teves and the wing-backs can't perform perfectly in all the 50-55 matches of the season. As such, a plan B is needed!! Conte could have developed Elia and Krasic to use them in a 4-3-3 as a plan B. De ceglie could have been developed to be the new Birindelli. Juve fans should know that we can't bring a Lahm-like fullback and tell him to sit on the bench as a backup for Asamoah. We have to have a less talented player than Asamoah. Again, as you said De Ceglie's wage was a setback.
That's just wrong, we played 4-3-3 for like whole season with Conte and he even said (recently) that he likes that formation but doesn't have the right players for it.
You can't possibly think about playing that formation without wingers, you just can't. We can only count on Mirko to cover the left and Pepe to cover the right side. Mirko while being inconsistent has also been injured for quite a while. Not to mention Pepe who has been injured forever.
Then again we're going to my old argument -- We're not going to bench either Tevez or Llorente at this point. That
also ruins the idea of 4-3-3. Not just that, but that also means to ditch 4-4-2 or any other formation with wingers.
Now you say why didn't we keep Elia and Krasic for a plan B? Imagine them on the wings right now, with this squad. We didn't keep them for only reason. One simple reason -- they are not good players.