Rockets Make Contract Offer To Andre Iguodala

The Rockets’ meeting with Andre Iguodala ended earlier this afternoon, and a source characterized the sit-down as “excellent,” says Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. According to Spears, Houston made a contract offer to Iguodala.

The runner-up in 2017’s Sixth Man of the Year voting, Iguodala is still considered a good bet to remain in Golden State and sign a new deal with the Warriors. However, he appears to be considering all his options. He has reportedly met – or will meet – with the Kings, Rockets, and Spurs, and has also received interest from the Lakers, among other clubs.

The Warriors hold Iguodala’s Bird rights and could go all the way up to the max to sign him if need be, though the team presumably has an informal limit on what it’s willing to offer the veteran swingman. With Stephen Curry having agreed to a huge new extension, Kevin Durant expected to get something close to the max, and Shaun Livingston getting his own multiyear deal, Golden State would be headed well beyond the tax line with a pricey commitment to Iguodala.

Still, even if the Warriors have cap concerns, it’s not clear if a Rockets’ offer will force their hand. Houston is over the cap and appears to be committing part of its $8.4MM mid-level exception to draft-and-stash prospect Zhou Qi. In order to make a truly competitive offer for Iguodala, the Rockets would likely need to figure out a sign-and-trade scenario, which would require Golden State’s cooperation.

There are always a lot of moving parts during the July moratorium, so Daryl Morey could have something up his sleeve, but landing Iguodala seems like a long shot for Houston.