Andre Iguodala will not attend the Media Day of the Memphis Grizzlies or report to the team's training camp after the two sides reached agreement over their differences, reported The Daily Memphian on Monday.
This meant that the 35-year-old veteran will continue to wait to be either traded or released before he can join a championship contender.
In July, Iguodala was sent to the Grizzlies by the Golden State Warriors, so the Warriors could collect enough cap space to complete the Kevin Durant-D'Angelo Russell trade. Meanwhile, the Grizzlies, which already sent their biggest star Mike Conley to the Utah Jazz, had no interest of keeping Iguodala for the team's rebuilding.
Andre Iguodala (L) of the Golden State Warriors defends Kawhi Leonard (R) of the Toronto Raptors in Game 5 of the 2019 NBA Finals at the Scotiabank Arena, June 10, 2019. /VCG Photo
Therefore, multiple teams, especially those that were desperate for champion pieces, reached out to Memphis to negotiate about acquiring Iguodala. Such teams included the Los Angeles Lakers, the Los Angeles Clippers and the Houston Rockets.
However, so far, no deal has been made for mainly two reasons. First, Iguodala still has a year of a contract left worth about 17.2 million U.S. dollars. Though most championship chasers have no problem spending money, their limited cap space keeps them from introducing Iguodala via trade.
If trading is off the table, the other option left is to sign Iguodala as a free agent after the Grizzlies release him. Nonetheless, so far, the team has shown no interest in doing others such a big favor for free. They believe that someone will finally make the right offer for the veteran.
Andre Iguodala (R) of the Golden State Warriors defends LeBron James (L) of the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 3 of the 2018 NBA Finals at the Quicken Loans Arena, June 6, 2018. /VCG Photo
The Grizzlies have good reasons to think so. Despite his age and disappointing performance in the regular season, Iguodala can still make key contributions in the playoffs with his orchestrating and defense. Moreover, as a three-time champion player, the role in the locker room is simply too valuable.
In an interview with NBC Sports Bay Area, Iguodala suggested he and the Grizzlies "were on the same page." The mutual understanding between him and the team is in the interest of both sides. After December 15, teams can put players that they signed as free agents this summer in trade, which will give the Grizzlies more options in negotiations. Furthermore, as the season goes on, teams will adjust their franchise and goal based on their performance, which means there can be new buyers.
Even if the Grizzlies cannot send Iguodala away via trade before the deadline of February 6, the team can still choose to waive him before March 1, so Iguodala can join a new team to attend the playoffs. The Grizzlies have no pressure to chase wins and they can spend the whole 2019-20 season watching how much Jaren Jackson Jr. and Ja Morant can grow.