When I want to help out a friend, I’ll usually give them a hand if they’re moving to a new place, or buy them a coffee on the way to work. Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala has a slightly different perspective of lending a helping hand.
Last week, while speaking to Bay Area News Group’s Diamond Leung, Iguodala made it clear that he wants to help guys like Klay Thompson and Draymond Green get their big contracts by making sure they have opportunities to score while on the court.
One of the biggest storylines of the summer has been Klay Thompson’s pursuit of a maximum contract with the Golden State Warriors, something the team and Klay have yet to work out.
Much has been said in favor of the 24-year-old deserving the max deal, after producing on the international stage for the United States Men’s team in the FIBA World Cup. Klay played a large role in the team’s gold medal finish, leaving Golden State Warriors fans thirsty for the NBA season to tip off.
Klay Thompson’s 2013-14 campaign was really where it all began, as far as proving his worth for this big contract. For the second straight year, Thompson played an entire season and produced at nearly All-Star levels.
In the last two seasons, he’s started an impressive 163 games, missing just one contest since 2012. His three-point shooting ability is no secret — he hit 223 from long range last year, coming in second to Stephen Curry’s eye-popping league-leading 261.
Needless to say, this is Klay’s final audition before he has a chance to earn a monster contract. On paper, 2014-15 is already set to be a historically good year for the Golden State Warriors. Klay Thompson is ready to be a major part of making that translate from paper to the court.
Blue Man Hoop
Back to Iggy’s comments.
Andre told the media that he’ll be making sure that Klay Thompson and Draymond Green get paid. Upon first read, I could see this kind of comment rubbing people the wrong way. Iguodala backed up his statement by giving the example that other guys helped him the same way.
“It’s just about taking care of your teammates, and I learned that early on playing with (Philadelphia 76ers teammates) Kevin Ollie, playing with guys like Aaron McKie. And then Andre Miller, he was perfect for me. He was a big reason why I got the (six-year, $80 million) deal that I got and why I played at the level I played with when I was in Philly.”
If you heard Andre Iguodala’s comments and were initially confused at how a guy could possibly affect another player’s contract offer, it’s really not as confusing as some may think.
Iggy is simply stating that while he’s on the floor, especially in the point-forward role, you better believe he’ll be looking for Klay to hit that transition three.
When Draymond Green is on the floor, he’ll most often be a third, even fourth offensive option. Dre is going to look to exploit that, because Green has proven he will knock down that open look when given the chance.
Iguodala went on to explain his thought process: “It’s not just Klay, but I want Steph to maximize his career. I want him to get paid as much as possible on and off the court. Draymond Green’s in a contract year, too, so I’m going to be looking to give him a couple extra. He’s going to fill up the basket a little bit more with me on the court with him as well.”
Some guys wouldn’t open up nearly the same way about talk of money. More often than not, you’d get the “I’m just gonna go out there and work hard and the contract stuff will work itself out” type of answer.
For the Golden State Warriors and their fans, this is good stuff from Andre Iguodala. It’s just not something you hear every day.