The Memphis Grizzlies, who were once expected to release star Andre Iguodala, now plan on keeping him, at least for a portion of the 2019-2020 season.
According to reports from Shams Charania (The Athletic, Stadium), the Memphis Grizzlies have informed star Forward Andre Iguodala that they expect him to report to training camp, and that they have no plans on buying Iguodala out from his contract:
Sources: Memphis wants three-time champion Andre Iguodala to report to training camp and is refusing right now to engage in buyout, which would prevent Iguodala from finishing a Hall of Fame career on his terms because this may be his final NBA season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2019
At about 5:30 pm CST, Charania sent out the above tweet, which began to imply some frustrations between Iguodala and the organization because of this decision, and soon after, he sent out a follow-up:
Iguodala is VP of NBPA, one of league’s most respected and desires a contender at this stage. Young, rebuilding Grizzlies received a valuable 2024 1st from Golden State in Iguodala trade, and after Dwight Howard buyout, were expected to eventually have same talks with Iguodala. https://t.co/feAQl4Jbv0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 9, 2019
In July of 2019, the Grizzlies traded the rights to guard Julian Washburn, who was on a two-way contract with Memphis, to the Golden State Warriors for Iguodala, a protected 2024 pick, and $2 million in cash. At the end of the next month, Bobby Marks (ESPN) predicted that the Grizzlies were going to buyout Iggy’s $17.2 million contract, due to the difficulties with trading a contract that big.
The buyout would have allowed Iguodala, who will be entering his 16th season in the NBA, to potentially finish his career on his own terms. Due to him being a possible Hall-of-Fame player, many around the league believe that is the road that should have been taken.
Now, it looks as though Iguodala will be sticking around for at least a few months. If the Grizzlies were to trade him, it would be more advantageous for them to wait until after Dec. 15th, so that players signed in this summer’s free agency were also on the market. This means that, more likely than not, Iguodala will be suiting up for the Memphis Grizzlies.
Iguodala, 35, is coming off of the worst season of his career in which he averaged 5.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 3.2 steals per game over an average of 23.2 minutes per game, across 68 games.