Golden State Warriors Keep Andre Iguodala With 3-Year, $48 Million Deal
The ace defensive wing stays in the Bay, keeping a championship team intact.
How much is the ultimate glue guy worth? About $48 million, apparently.
Though Iguodala was active in free agency, ultimately he was able to get the deal he wanted from the Golden State Warriors, who leaped into the tax by signing him to a lucrative contract that should carry him through the twilight of his career.
Andre Iguodala 2016–17 Stats:
7.6 points (52.8 field goal percentage, 36.2 3-point percentage), 4.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists
Fit
It’s hard to overstate how much of an impact Iguodala has made on the court for the Warriors, regardless of his stats.
When Steve Kerr inherited the team, it was Iguodala’s acceptance of a bench role, among other things, that helped spur the team to one of the greatest runs of success in recent memory. Iggy was still a capable starter at that point, but ceded his spot to help run the bench and stay fresh for the playoffs, and in that first championship run he won Finals MVP.
Though he’s lost a little bit of athleticism since then and will lose more as the years go on, he still has much of the speed, agility and smarts that made him one of the most capable perimeter defenders in the league. Iguodala’s a film junkie who knows the tendencies of his nightly foes inside and out. He hounds offensive players off their favored spots, then reads their favorite passing routes and knifes into seemingly open lanes to create steals from thin air.
Backed up by Golden State’s legion of stalwart defenders, Iguodala coming off the bench is a demoralizing blow against teams that are often already struggling to keep up. The aptly named “Death Lineup” originally composed of Curry, Thompson, Iguodala, Barnes and Green shredded almost every lineup pitted against it, switching assignments like some sort of ten-armed octopus and forcing turnovers that turned into transition threes and dunks.
On offense, Iguodala’s not much of a shooter, but can occasionally make teams pay from the outside. His playmaking is his best skill by far. It’s rare to find a wing that has his prowess with the ball in his hands, and on a team like Golden State that thrives with multiple ball handlers he’s been unleashed.
Add Iguodala anywhere in the league and your team probably gets better. Add him to one of the best teams in the league and your team becomes unfair. Much of the reason Iguodala got lucrative offers in free agency was due to his skill level. He’s a high-level role player on the wing, and those guys command big contracts in the 8-figure range.
But much of the reason teams went so hard after him was also for the blow it would deal to the Bay Area juggernaut helmed by Steve Kerr. Poach their free agents, and you don’t have to work as hard trying to attain the perhaps-impossible goal of matching up in the playoffs. This is more than Golden State wanted to pay, and owner Joe Lacob is going to have to dig deep into his checkbook to keep the team together when the tax man comes knocking.
Kudos to Bob Myers and Joe Lacob. They anted up. The juggernaut rolls on.
Signing Grade: A
