Golden State Warriors: Was Andre Iguodala Deal a Mistake?
Andre Iguodala brings a lot of things to Golden State, but a championship is not one of them. Photo Credit: NBA.com
Should the Golden State Warriors have passed on signing Andre Iguodala? The general consensus on this question has been a resounding NO! Early predictions make it seem like the Warriors greatly improved their team from last season. However, have the Warriors improved enough to justify signing a pricey veteran to take the minutes of cheaper, but skilled, younger players. Let’s look at Andre Igoudala and his new four-year, $48 million contract and how it affects the current Golden State Warriors roster.
Iguodala is a 29-year-old swingman who spent last season with the Denver Nuggets and the previous eight seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers. I believe the Warriors got a good deal here. You may not want to be paying a 33-year-old Iguodala $12 million that final season, but seeing how spend-happy many general managers were this offseason, this is a good deal.
Iguodala can play three positions. His natural fit is at the 3, but he can play a big 2 or small-ball 4 based on matchups and game plan. Golden State’s starting five next season without Iguodala projected to be Andrew Bogut, David Lee, Harrison Barnes, Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry. I am assuming that Iguodala will start, he is making $12 million per season after all, so the question is … who will he start in place of? Iguodala should only play the 4 based on matchups, as he is not Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James and will get killed down low. Plus, David Lee is making $14 million next year, so it is not economical to bench him. After the season and playoffs Thompson had last year, he is going to start.
So the obvious choice is Barnes. But here is my issue with that, having watched every single Round 2 San Antonio Spurs-Golden State Warriors game this past postseason, Barnes was often the best player on the floor for Golden State. After Thompson’s ridiculous Game 2, Kawhi Leonard shut him down the rest of the series. The Spurs (or fatigue or Curry’s papier-mache ankles) also slowed Curry down after Game 1. However, Barnes got better as the series went on. Granted this was partly by design by the Spurs, but Barnes rose to the challenge. He has a good outside shot, is a good defender and seems to have a high IQ on both offense and defense. Basically he is Iguodala-lite, especially if he develops his ball-handling and passing skills. Barnes is on a rookie contract, making one-third of what Iguodala makes. Unless Golden State plans on running a lot of small-ball (which they will and how often they run it will be totally dependent on Bogut’s health, a big gamble), Iguodala is going to take a lot of Barnes’ minutes, therefore stunting his growth. Barnes can and should be playing 35 minutes a night, not the 25 minutes I suspect he will get with Iguodala in town.
Iguodala makes the Warriors better, no doubts there. I’m betting the five man unit of Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Iguodala and Bogut will have a huge plus-minus differential and give Western Conference teams fits. However, the addition of Iguodala does not address Golden State’s biggest weakness … scoring at the rim.
The Warriors last season were a jump-shooting team. When their guards were hot, they were unstoppable. When they were not, they were extremely beatable. This was a 47-win team that got hot for six games in the playoffs. But it was evident, especially late in the games against the Spurs, that the Warriors had no one that could get into the paint and break down the defense on a consistent basis. Even though the Warriors had the Spurs defense stretched out, they had to rely on Jarrett Jack‘s penetration to score because the Spurs had closed off the 3-point line. Aside from some impressive hero ball moments, Warriors fans were mostly calling for Jack’s head after watching him dribble for 20 seconds and hoist a fade-away top of the key jumper.
The Warriors need someone who can break down the opposing defenses to open up the 3-point line for their shooters. Curry and Thompson are young enough and maybe they will develop that skill. Curry has the ability to, especially. But why spend three times as much on Iguodala when you have an “Iguodala-lite” on a rookie contract and then get someone who can break down defenses. Can you imagine that Warriors team with Josh Smith at the 4? Goodness, that would be terrifying for other teams watching Smith attacking the rim and hitting open guys for 3s as their defense scrambles. Maybe the Warriors kicked the tires on Smith and it did not work out, but that does not mean they had to snag Iguodala this year. Granted, Iguodala makes them better, but if they would have waited until next summer to sign a player that can get into the paint by dribble or post and break down defenses, that would have put them in the upper echelon of the Western Conference. I just have a hard time seeing this Warriors team beat the Spurs, Oklahoma City Thunder, Los Angeles Clippers or Memphis Grizzlies in a seven-game series.
And if they made the Iguodala signing to put them over the top, I do not think fifth place is what they had in mind.