With the NBA Draft only days way, the news and rumors will be running rampant. The Warriors don’t have any draft picks, so they will be focused on re-signing their current players and potentially brining in some new faces through free agency.
Free agency does not begin until July 1st, when teams can start contacting players to gauge interest, however, they can start renegotiating with the players currently on their roster. For the Warriors, they have several players that want to bring back, including defensive wingman Andre Iguodala.
There is no doubt that Bob Myers and the Warriors want to keep the core of this group intact, but they will have to open up their checkbooks if that want that to be the case. Iguodala has publicly said he wants to remain with the Warriors, but they have not been meeting eye to eye in the negotiations. According to Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports, Iguodala will be testing the free agent market to see if he can land a better offer:
Iguodala plans to seriously consider other teams in July, league sources told The Vertical. Prospective teams would need to show in meetings a vision to move toward contention to pry Iguodala from Golden State, league sources said. In four seasons with the Warriors, Iguodala, who made $11.1 million this past season, has served as a playmaker and primary wing defender and established himself as a high-character leader.
Many teams are expected to pursue discussions with Iguodala, including the Warriors, Utah Jazz, Los Angeles Clippers, Chicago Bulls, Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks, league sources said. Among teams around the league, there’s a belief that the value this summer for a two-way wing such as Iguodala could reach $20 million annually.
Iguodala has been an instrumental piece for this franchise and it would be tough pill to swallow if the Warriors lose him to another team. With Kevin Durant re-signing and Steph Curry also receiving an extension, the Warriors will likely be paying the luxury tax next year, so they probably didn’t offer Iguodala what he wanted right off the bat.
The Warriors have an opportunity to become a dynasty and that should be worth paying the luxury tax, especially with all the money they bring in after two championships in three years. Iguodala has earned his money and while this might just ne a negotiating tactic by his agent, there is no doubt that there are other NBA teams happy to pay the Finals MVP what he desires.
Now is not the time to be cheap, pay the man.