Draymond Green on seeing Andre Iguodala tonight: “I’m gonna flagrant foul him. Flagrant 2.” pic.twitter.com/iLQbUzk7MD
— Anthony Slater (@anthonyVslater) February 10, 2020
For the first time since Golden State traded away Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies as a salary dump in order to acquire D’Angelo Russell, the Warriors will have a chance to see Iguodala on the court. Iguodala has remained in the Bay Area during his roughly 2/3-season basketball hiatus, which, by all accounts, was a mutual agreement between him and the then-hapless Grizzlies.
There was some “controversy” in the sense that the Grizzlies, now at 27-26 and eighth in the Western Conference, are no longer so hapless. Iguodala was criticized by 20- and 24-year-old Grizzlies guards Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks for what they perceived as abandoning the team. Iguodala did not respond, but broke down the situation here, with The Athletic.
Ultimately, the 36-year-old Iguodala found a trade to and a two-year, $30 million extension with the Miami Heat (second-year team option), who are fourth in the Eastern Conference at 34-18. He played his first game of the 2020 season and first since the 2019 NBA Finals on Sunday in a 115-109 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers, scoring 2 points with 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block and 2 turnovers.
It just so happens that Iguodala’s second game of the season will take place at Chase Center against the Warriors. Asked how he would deal with seeing Iguodala, Draymond Green gave a typically hilarious answer.
“I’m gonna flagrant foul him,” Green said. “Flagrant two. As soon as I get a chance. It’ll be worth it. I’ll get to talk about it for the rest of my life to him, so it’ll be worth it.”
Green opened up a little more after that initial answer regarding the trade and his appreciation of Iguodala as a person when asked if he had a favorite moment with him.
“My favorite moment for him was when he won Finals MVP,” Green said. “That’s something not a lot of people have done, so for him to get that honor, I think it’s hard to put anything above that. But just as a personal moment, it’s hard when you’re as close to Andre as I am.”
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