Andre Iguodala could see the writing on the wall. Bob Myers had told him that he might be traded in the offseason, and given the general upheaval that was about to strike the Golden State Warriors, such a move became likelier and likelier the closer the Warriors got to free agency. Once D’Angelo Russell became a realistic target and the realities of the hard cap set in, an Iguodala trade became all but certain.
Had he simply predicted such a move, Iguodala would not have deserved much credit. But as he told Monte Pool of NBC Sports Bay Area, his powers of premonition extended even further. He managed to, even if inadvertently, predict the exact team that he would be traded to.
“So, I’m texting my wife, telling her I’ll probably get traded because I think it’s 100 percent sure, even though everyone else is saying, it’s only a chance. Then, once K.D. [Kevin Durant] left, I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’ll probably get traded. They’re probably going to do a sign-and-trade, so they can get something back, to at least get assets for him.’ No one was thinking that. But I was thinking they’ll want to get assets back because they can’t just let him go. And they’ll probably move me as well. So, she asked me where I thought I would go. I said, ‘I don’t know, I’ll probably end up in Memphis or some s—t.'”
Iguodala did not seem to have inside information on Memphis’ potential interest. Instead, he seemed to just be pessimistic about his future and simply decided to name a non-contender in a small market. A rebuilding team like the Grizzlies holds no appeal to a veteran like Iguodala, as the last few months have proven.
Memphis’ acquisition of Iguodala was mostly incidental. It had not been targeting him specifically, but the Warriors needed to shed salary, and the Grizzlies happened to be one of the few teams to have the cap space to absorb him after the spending frenzy that was the first day of free agency. They got a valuable first-round pick for their troubles, and are now trying to extract more money out of Iguodala by trading him to a contender. They have agreed to let him skip training camp while they try to work out a deal with a contender.
They have not been successful in that endeavor yet, as Iguodala’s salary makes building a trade difficult. Ultimately, Iguodala won’t finish the season in Memphis, nor will he likely ever wear a Grizzlies uniform. But technically speaking, he was right. He did end up in Memphis, even if that’s not precisely what he meant.
