NBA: Former Champion Will Be Tremendous For Lakers, Free Agency Possible

Things have gone quiet on the Andre Iguodala front in recent weeks with teams holding back from making any concrete offers for the three-time NBA champion. The 35-year-old shooting guard/small forward was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies by the Golden State Warriors this summer.

A number of franchises that are favorites to make the 2019-20 playoffs like Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers and the Lakers were interested in signing the veteran forward but were put off by the Grizzlies' asking rate. The Lakers were initially touted as the favorites and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst believes he will be a tremendous acquisition for Franck Vogel’s squad.

The Grizzlies are on the road to rebuilding their squad and the former Warriors guard does not really fit into their plans going into their future. However, they are unwilling to allow Iguodala to leave on the cheap and are adamant that it will cost interested teams at least one future first round pick to trade for the 2015 NBA Finals MVP.

The high demand from the Grizzlies has put off many teams as they are not in a position to offer draft picks or even absorb Iguodala’s $17.2 million salary for the upcoming campaign without losing some of their key stars as part of the deal. The Rockets will have to give up one of PJ Tucker or Eric Gordon, while the Clippers will have to sacrifice Maurice Harkless which they are unwilling to do at the moment.

The other option for the interested teams to sign Iguodala will be if he completes a buyout with the Grizzlies, which will see him give up a big chunk of his $17.2 million salary. But the franchise were not keen on going down that route but ESPN’s Bobby Marks suggests that it could be possible once training camp gets underway.

The NBA expert believes the Grizzlies have no rush at the moment to get any deal over the line but they will have a four week window during training camp to come up with something. And at the moment the buyout route looks most likely as there are no teams that will challenge for a playoff spot that can match Memphis’ demands.

Meanwhile, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, who was hosting “The Jump” believes Iguodala will be a tremendous signing for the Lakers, who will surely benefit from his veteran leadership and the fact that he has won three NBA titles in the last five seasons. The Lakers are likely to be considered if he enters free agency by completing a buyout.