As he’s aged, Andre Iguodala has gotten really good at two of the most important aspects of basketball: winning championships and getting paid. In 2020, at 35 years old, that trend continues as the disgruntled Memphis Grizzlies forward, who sat out for half of the season, forced his way to the Miami Heat ahead of the NBA’s trade deadline. Then, on Wednesday, the Heat agreed to extend his contract by two years for $30 million, with a team option in the second year. What a turnaround.
Andre Iguodala is the king of getting paid
The former Memphis Grizzlies forward finessed his way into a 2-year, $30 million Miami Heat contract.
Iguodala is the king of finesse when it comes to getting paid, and it didn’t start when this gap year turned into a South Beach cash-out. In the summer of 2017, the Golden State Warriors tried to shortchange their sixth man, offering him a contract in the range of $12-14 million per year for two years, and an un-guaranteed third year. After threatening to leave and talking with other teams, he walked away with the contract he wanted: three guaranteed years at $16 million per season.
Now, he’s taken the game even further.
Iguodala has been getting paid to train and chill all year
Over the summer, the Warriors had tough decisions to make after learning Kevin Durant would be skipping town for the Brooklyn Nets. Their answer was to sign-and-trade Durant for D’Angelo Russell to recoup some of their loss. As a result, they had to shed Iguodala’s contract for financial reasons. They shipped him to the Grizzlies, who weren’t expected to be in playoff contention, and Iguodala refused to play. Iguodala and Memphis made an agreement that he would stay away from the team while it worked out trade possibilities. Iguodala wanted a buyout, presumably to head to the Lakers, but that never came.
So, Iguodala has been training, doing pilates, meditating and boxing in the meantime. He went on a mini press tour with ESPN’s First Take and NBA countdown ahead of the deadline to tell us so. He said the time off may have even added a year or two to his career.
Then, his name was drawn into the spotlight even more. Fed up with Iguodala getting paid to not play, Grizzlies youth Ja Morant and Dillon Brooks called him out in the media. “I cant wait til we find a way to trade him so we can play him and show him really what Memphis is about,” Brooks said.
Even when he wasn’t playing, Iguodala added fuel to the fire, proving the game wants him back.
Iguodala got what he wanted in the end
He may not be able to head back to Golden State and play with Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green anymore, but Iguodala does enter a situation that’s just as good, if not even better.
First, the Heat are a really good team. They could even make a run at winning the Eastern Conference. Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo are playing at an all-star level, Duncan Robinson and Kendrick Nunn have been big surprises, and the Heat are 34-16. Adding Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder (all part of the Heat-Grizzlies trade) to that mix could take them to the next level.
Second, Iguodala got paid. Like, big paid. Three years ago, the Warriors thought Iguodala was too old and injury-prone to give $16 million guaranteed in three consecutive years. Now, he’s going to at least make $15 million in a fourth season, with the potential to earn the same amount the year after. King!
Third, Iguodala gets to play and live in Miami. Miami! Even if the Heat stink, or merely lose in the second round of the playoffs, Iguodala wins.
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