The Memphis Grizzlies may have no intention of keeping Andre Iguodala after they acquired him in a trade with the Golden State Warriors, but they are not working with him on a buyout — at least not yet.
ESPN’s Tim MacMahon reports that the Grizzlies do not intend to buy out Iguodala’s contract before next season and are actively exploring trade possibilities for the veteran swingman. The Dallas Mavericks and Houston Rockets are among the teams that are open to a potential trade.
Iguodala is owed $17.2 million next season, and the Warriors needed to unload his salary in order to complete the three-team, sign-and-trade deal that landed them D’Angelo Russell. They also sent a future first-round draft pick to Memphis in the trade, so the initial belief was that the Grizzlies were simply buying a first-round pick.
It makes sense that the Grizzlies would rather trade Iguodala, but teams know they have little interest in keeping him. That doesn’t give Memphis much leverage in trade talks, though some team could offer a draft pick if they don’t think they’d be able to sign Iguodala in the event of a buyout.
Iguodala would be a logical fit for the Los Angeles Lakers, and there have already been indications that he is going to end up with them. Rob Pelinka was the 35-year-old’s agent before he became the general manager of the Lakers.
Iguodala would almost certainly prefer to play for a contender at this point in his career, so he may pressure the Grizzlies into buying him out if they can’t find a trade partner.
