Three-time NBA champion and former Finals MVP Andre Iguodala is back on the trading block. The former GSW made a pact with his current team, the Memphis Grizzlies, that he'll be skipping training camp until his final destination has been determined.
The reported arrangement will see Iguodala training on his own while the Grizzlies search for possible takers or a team willing to buy out his existing contract, worth $17.2 million to cover for Season 2019-20. According to NBC Sports, "it appears the former Warrior ... will never suit up for Memphis."
That's because both parties have agreed that it may take time before a deal could be finalized given the amount of cash a receiving team will have to shell out to acquire Iguodala, who was part of the Warriors that brought home three NBA titles.
Also, it is understood that Iguodala is unwilling to give up portions of the one-year salary, a carry-over of his live contract with the GSW, he is entitled to. This indicates that Grizzlies' negotiations will interested team could stretch "well into the coming season."
Iguodala ended up being traded by the Warriors last July in order to free up salary restrictions following the exit of Kevin Durant. As a result of the trade, the GSW front office was able to sign-up D'Angelo Russell.
In an interview, Iguodala recounted that he had an inkling the 2019 Free Agency will see him transferring to another team. His suspicion grew, even more, when news broke out that Durant had decided to go east and join the Brooklyn Nets.
Per Bleacher Report, Iguodala confided, on a hunch, to his wife that his next could be in Memphis and it proved to be true.
"The next day, I got the message. It was Memphis. I fell out laughing," Iguodala was reported as saying.
The same report stated that it was a struggle on the part of Iguodala to come to terms with the sudden change of setting. Since he got traded, the celebrated sixth man is yet to visit Memphis, and he still keeps in touch with his Warrior pals.
Picking up on the report, Forbes said that Iguodala open for trading is an attractive proposition and makes sense for many teams, especially those who are title-hungry. These are the teams that have been building up in recent years, and quickly the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets, and the LA Clippers come to mind.
The same teams, the same report said, will certainly gain having an Iguodala on their rosters but one big thing will prevent them from opening talks with the Grizzlies.
"The teams that need him most ... don't have much dead money sitting on their books to trade," said the Forbes report.
