At the moment, Andre Iguodala remains with the Memphis Grizzlies, as the former Golden State Warriors sixth man was traded in July to free up salary-cap space for the newly-acquired D’Angelo Russell. It’s still unclear what lies ahead this season for the 35-year-old veteran, as rumors have long claimed that the Grizzlies may either be planning to trade him or buy out his contract. However, a new report suggests that regardless of what happens in the 2019-20 campaign, “Iggy” will likely return to the Warriors in 2020-21 for what might be his final season in the NBA.
In the Tuesday edition of his column, Marc Stein of The New York Times reported that the Grizzlies remain “determined” to receive something in return for Iguodala before the February 6 trade deadline. This, he opined, is the “absolute right thing” for Memphis to do, as the team has more than enough time to wait for a contending team to make an acceptable trade offer. Iguodala’s contract, which will pay him $17.2 million in the 2019-20 season, is due to expire next summer.
After mentioning the Los Angeles Lakers , Los Angeles Clippers, Houston Rockets, and Philadelphia 76ers as some of the teams that could realistically trade for Iguodala before the deadline, Stein wrote that the former NBA Finals MVP is very likely to have one last run with the team where he won three championships once he enters free agency in the 2020 offseason.
“Consider him a virtual lock to return to the Warriors to finish his career with the team that propelled him to the hallowed Robert Horry stratosphere for elite, ring-laden role players.”
Given Iguodala’s lengthy stint with the NBA’s most dominant team of the decade and his recent move to a rebuilding Grizzlies organization, Bleacher Report separately wrote that the 16-year veteran may be in for a “rude awakening.” However, it isn’t even clear whether Iguodala will ever play a game for Memphis, as he did not join the team for the start of the 2019-20 campaign and won’t be playing in their season opener against the Miami Heat.
Since entering the NBA in 2004 as the ninth overall pick in that year’s draft, Iguodala has posted career averages of 12.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 4.4 assists, per Basketball-Reference . While he hasn’t averaged double figures in scoring since he joined the Warriors in 2013, the former Arizona Wildcats star played a key role on defense for Golden State, having made the All-Defensive first team in his first season in the Bay Area. In 2018-19, Iguodala averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game for a Warriors team that lost in six games to the Toronto Raptors in this year’s NBA Finals.