Nigerian-born slam-dunk star, Andre Iguodala faces the ignominy of failing to play for any club this season in USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) league, as Memphis Grizlles have pulled out on a deal they initially ignited to fetch the former Golden State Warriors’ player, megasportsarena.com reports.
Despite initially being on course to become The Grizzlies’ highest-paid player, Iguodala is still sitting out all their games, and observes fear that might continue unless he gets a new trade by Thursday.
Dramatically, though, sources close to Iguodala hinted that he is prepared to sit out the rest of this season if The Grizzlies are unable to trade him to one of his desired teams by the deadline time for the last round of deals in the NBA.
Separate reports by The Athletic’s David Aldridge and Yahoo Sports’ Jack Baer revealed that Iguodala has not reported to The Grizzlies since he was traded away from Golden State, in an arrangement that he and the team reached while looking for a trade partner.
This comes after The Grizzlies acquired Iguodala, a former All-Star and key bench presence for The Warriors’ dynasty, so they could flip him for more assets, not to lead a rebuilding team, with an additional plan of a protected first-round pick in taking his $17.2m salary off The Warriors.
However, there appears to be a little animosity on Grizzlies’ side over how everything is going down and, after Monday’s win over Detroit Pistons, Memphis’ wing, Dillon Brooks said he wants Iguodala to be traded, so the team could play him and show him what understanding is about.
While Aldridge did not specify which teams Iguodala hopes to join, Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers have been widely assumed to be the veteran forward’s favored destinations, but finding a team that can meet The Grizzlies’ demands and pay his salary could be a challenge.
The report adds: “Given that Iguodala is still technically a member of the Grizzlies, a team that has opted against playing him at all, the right team and offer haven’t yet been presented. We’ll see if that changes by Thursday, as teams in a wide-open title race try to get that final piece.”
However, another report hinted that Iguodala will certainly be at another club by Thursday night, much to the relief of Grizzlies, who got him from Golden State last summer in a cost-saving move by The Warriors, but the star says he does not want to play for a rebuilding team.
The report concludes: “Memphis wasn’t going to buy him out, so the two sides agreed that Iguodala would sit out, away from the team, until a trade could be put together. Thing is, those “rebuilding” Grizzlies are 25-25 and comfortably sitting as the eighth seed in the West. They could use a veteran wing such as Iguodala, but he has not joined the team.”
