It’s been reported already that Andre Iguodala is expected to draw serious interest around the league when his free agency begins on July 1. New reports out Tuesday give a clearer picture of which teams exactly will pursue the 33-year-old former Finals MVP, and the list includes a mix of contenders and non-contenders.
According to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, Iguodala “has become the foremost target in an attempt weaken” the Dubs and their super team. The teams included in the running for Iguodala, according to Haynes, are the Timberwolves, Spurs, Clippers, 76ers, Magic, Nets and Jazz.
It really is an eclectic mix of teams who seek the services of Iguodala, and they would probably each have different uses for him. Western Conference contenders like the Spurs, Clippers and Jazz likely see Iggy as a consolation prize that can still make a splash if any of those three teams are unable to sign or re-sign the max-level players they’ve each been linked to.
Other teams, like the Timberwolves, 76ers, Magic and Nets, would value his veteran leadership and it figures Iguodala would take on much larger roles with those teams. The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported in recent weeks that the cost for Iguodala could rise up to $20 million per year, a figure the Warriors wouldn’t match. Their best offer would reportedly come in somewhere around $10-12 million each season, but as Haynes notes, it’s still unclear whether Iguodala will even take meetings with other teams. His desire to stay with Golden State has been well-documented.
The interesting big picture note from Haynes comes in his description of an Iguodala pursuit as more of a strategy to weaken the Warriors than to improve the team that signs him, should he leave.
“A significant amount of personnel within NBA circles have come to the conclusion that rather than building a superteam it’s much more economically feasible and expeditious to just pluck talent away from the Bay Area juggernauts,” Haynes writes.
Bold strategy there. Let’s see if it pays off.