Before the Grizzlies defeated the Pistons on Monday night, maintaining their hold on the No. 8 seed, a report surfaced suggesting that Andre Iguodala is preparing to sit out the season if he’s not traded to one of his preferred landing spots, or bought out. After Memphis’ win, forward Dillon Brooks weighed in on the Iguodala rumors, as Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays.
“Andre Iguodala’s a great player. I feel like he’s doing the right thing for his career, but we don’t really care,” Brooks said. “It’s not a distraction at all. I laugh at that type of stuff.
“A guy that’s on our team that doesn’t want to be on our team,” Brooks continued. “I can’t wait ’til we find a way to trade him so we can play him and show him what really Memphis is about.”
Although no other Grizzlies players conveyed a similar sentiment to reporters, Brooks’ teammates Ja Morant and De’Anthony Melton published cryptic tweets seemingly supporting his message.
Iguodala was sent from the Warriors to the Grizzlies in a July trade as Golden State cleared salary to bring in D’Angelo Russell. Although that trade was a salary dump that netted Memphis a first-round pick, the Grizzlies are confident Iguodala can be flipped for positive value and has insisted all season long they plan to move him rather than buy him out. The team has until Thursday afternoon to make that happen.
The Grizzlies and Iguodala reportedly reached a mutual agreement in the fall to have him remain away with the team, so the front office has no issue with his absence, but it’s not hard to see why some Grizzlies players may share Brooks’ sentiment.
When Iguodala talked in September about the trade, he recalled predicting in the summer that he’d be moved to “Memphis or some s–t,” implying that it was among the worst possible outcomes. And even as the upstart Grizzlies have outperformed expectations and moved into the playoff picture, the former Finals MVP has shown zero interest in playing for the team.
While a few young Grizzlies players may be eager to show Iguodala what he’s missing out on, veteran forward Jae Crowder took a more measured stance, as Barnes details.
“I would like to keep a lot of stuff in-house but we respect what he’s done,” Crowder said of Iguodala. “He’s a Hall-of-Famer. In my eyes, he’s a Hall-of-Famer. He’s proven in this league, so as long as he handled it like a professional, I believe he is. … I would not say that he’s been a distraction at all. Like I said, he hasn’t been here. But we respect what he wants at this time of his career, and you have to respect it.”
Does Jae Crowder have a head injury or something? Iggy in the HOF is a joke.
He may still be a little disoriented from that scrap at the Garden
He might’ve be men taking into account defense when he mentioned that, forgive him if you may
The trade wasn’t about Iggy but to land a first-round pick which is what the Grizzlies really wanted it anyway. Seems like if Iguodala wants to be a Warrior forever.
I give props to the young buck for saying the truth .. the vets feel like you gotta say the right thing .. but the truth is the truth .. your prima Donna ass don’t wanna b there .. then get the hell out ..coming from a spurs fan who went thru the same crap with number 2
I don’t really think iguodala is doing anything wrong, they have an agreement with him to not be with the squad, but I also don’t think the kid said anything wrong, he feels slighted and wants to show on the court what Memphis can do, that’s cool and it isn’t just some prepared statement trying to make everyone feel good it’s his actual thoughts
Iguodala is worthless. What a horrible teammate. So much for “veteran leadership”. Hey, if you don’t like your team just sit out but still cash that check…
False. If anyone is useless it’s the Grizzlies front office. They took this trade and let him sit. Now they get to buy him out. What’s the old saying about not hating the player?
He’s not a player like Brooks is
I love iguodala but you can’t average 12 points a game and get into the HOF. Excellent player but not hall material.
He’s a hall of famer. He was a key cog for the Warriors in their 3 title runs including winning finals MVP in the first one. The basketball HOF isn’t just for NBA play either. It’s for ABA, NCAA international as well as NBA play and your contributions on and off the court. He won a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics and another gold in the 2010 FIBA world championships. He’s also 1st VP of the NBPA.
Not that scoring is the only thing that counts but Dennis Rodman, Arvydas Sabonis, Bill Walton and Dennis Johnson are just a few of the many players enshrined who didn’t average 15ppg.
Maybe not 1st ballot, but he will get there.
I’ll take it a step further..i hope if he is traded he absolutely stinks after sitting out 2/3 of the season and whoever he ends up with gets ousted in the first round because of him.
…As long as he doesn’t end up with the Bucks.
What a joke, hope he sits out all year what a cry baby!
Of Basketball Reference’s top 10 similar players to Iggy, 4 are in the HOF (Cousy, DJ, Lenny Wilkens, and Hal Greer).
Only 1 of Carmelo Anthony’s 10 is in the HOF (Alex English).
Meaning: I have no idea what this means but I wanted to throw another log on the fire.
Iggy should easily get into the Warriors’ HOF, but he’s not a serious candidate for the basketball HOF. It’s for the elite. All-NBA selections? Zero. DPOY: Zero. The HOF discussion should really end there.
But even the lower levels of achievement represented by the ASG (just one) and All Defensive team (just once 1st team and twice overall).
And what is Memphis about, exactly? Being the Spurs whipping boy for years and paying underachievers like Gasol & Conley (lol @ that contract). The Grizzlies are the problem here, not wanting to trade him for crumbs but not understanding that nobody wants a 17m contract on their books, especially with so few teams over the cap and not wanting to part with their own players just to get him to match salaries. If anything they would be giving away picks to get rid of him, or at least trading multiple 2nds for one 1st. The whole agreement thing is Memphis’ fault too, should’ve just let him play and then maybe a team would be willing to bite.
*under the cap
I just became a HUGE fan of Dillon Brooks. Good for him for calling out his petulant teammate.
The irony of Memphis fan boys calling Iggy a cry baby…. lol
There isn’t anything ironic about it. Do you even know what the word means? Iggy has turned into a little girl and destroyed his reputation. He’s an entitled child. Pay me all my money so I can play for someone else. Yeah. Ok.
Pretty much soiled his HOF chances.
Imagine the different candidacy if one could say *and then he even led a too-young Memphis team to the playoffs*
But no, he was “no mas” not Lets See What We Can Do About This
Iguodala has to win another title just to make up for it.
Brooks on the other hand… keep him srarting with Morant!