Getty Golden State Warriors forward Andre Iguodala warms up prior to Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics.
The Golden State Warriors are still waiting for Andre Iguodala to announce whether he will come back for a 19th NBA season, and the team is making some contingency plans in the meantime in case he plans to retire.
The Warriors are holding a roster spot reserved in case Iguodala decides to come back and join the team for its title defense. Even though the veteran endured an injury-plagued season, the team valued his leadership and how he served as a mentor for the team’s younger players. With training camp now approaching, the Warriors are getting ready for whatever decision Iguodala decided to make.
Warriors Prepared for Iguodala to Retire
The Warriors have made it publicly clear that they welcome Iguodala back if he chooses. Head coach Steve Kerr said the team has been giving him space to make his decision and would be checking in soon.
“We’ll touch base in the next couple days,” Kerr said during September 8 appearance on 95.7 The Game‘s Damon & Ratto.
“[Team president Bob Myers] and I are giving him the space to make whatever decision he wants. We’ll support him either way, but we hope he comes back, I can tell you that.”
But privately, the Warriors are still unsure what he will do. A league executive told Heavy.com’s Sean Deveney that the team is preparing to bring other players into training camp if Iguodala decides to retire.
“As I understand it, they have told a small handful of guys to be ready for camp if Iggy decides not to come back,” the executive said. “But if you talk to people with the team, I don’t think anyone knows, really, but the bet would be that he retires. That’s what most people are saying but, who knows?”
The executive went on to say that Iguodala would likely only return if he had a spot in the rotation, not a player emeritus like the spot Udonis Haslem holds with the Miami Heat.
“If he had come back from the injury last year and been a big contributor, even for a few games, in the playoffs, that might be different,” the executive said. “But he has a lot of outside interests and as much as he is a great teacher, he never seemed to be the guy who would sit on the bench and not play.”
Warriors Looking at Options
The Warriors have already held workouts with several veteran players who could earn invites to training camp should Iguodala retire. The team already has one roster spot open, and could look to fill two if Iguodala doesn’t come back.
Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that the team held workouts with a group of players last week that included Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kenneth Faried. They held a previous workout to look at veteran free agents Shabazz Muhammad Solomon Hill, Tyler Cook and Kelan Martin, the pair reported.
“It’s expected the Warriors will fill their open training camp roster spot out of the free agents who came to work out in the Bay Area,” Charania and Slater wrote.