Cue the Skylar Grey because he’s coming home.
Just as we’ve all been speculating for some time, Andre Iguodala is returning to the Golden State Warriors. After narrowing his choices to the Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, and Brooklyn Nets, the 17-year veteran opted to return to the team where he won three championships.
He’s coming back on a veteran’s minimum contract, according to multiple reports.
Minimum deal for Iguodala’s return to the Warriors, sources said. https://t.co/3oiAkYnQ7N
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 6, 2021
While Iguodala’s best years may have come at the beginning of his career with the Philadelphia 76ers, he shaped his Hall of Fame case during his time with the Dubs. He signed with the Warriors prior to the 2013-14 season, which marked how serious the upstart team was. He won Finals MVP a year later, and was a vital member of the second and third championship teams in the dynasty as well.
All in all, Iguodala spent six seasons with the Warriors, averaging 7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, with some exceptional defense.
The Warriors traded him to the Memphis Grizzlies prior to the 2019-20 season to make space for D’Angelo Russell’s contract, but Iguodala never played for the rebuilding Grizz, instead forcing his way to a competitive Miami Heat team, where he made it to the NBA Finals and signed a two-year, $30 million extension with a team option for the second year.
That option was declined after a lackluster 2020-21 season for Iguodala, and it seemed destined that he would return to the Warriors, where he has great familiarity with the system, a close friendship with Steph Curry, many Silicon Valley business ventures, and his offseason home.
With Iguodala signed, the Warriors might be done looking for a backup point guard. Iguodala is a masterful playmaker, and should be capable of helping run the second unit, especially with Jordan Poole sharing those duties. If the Warriors add another player in free agency, it might be a backup center (Marquese Chriss, anyone?).
The Dubs roster is starting to fill out nicely, with a presumed starting lineup (when healthy) of Curry, Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, and Kevon Looney, and a bench rotation of Poole, Iguodala, Otto Porter Jr., Nemanja Bjelica, and Juan Toscano-Anderson, all with James Wiseman, Nico Mannion, Jonathan Kuminga, and Moses Moody waiting in the developmental wings.