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Golden State Warriors veteran Andre Iguodala isn’t ready to announce whether he’ll retire or come back for a 19th season, but he’s giving some new insight into the decision process.
Iguodala played an important role on last season’s title team despite dealing with a spate of injuries that limited him to 31 regular season games. While he couldn’t make as much impact on the court, Iguodala was able to help in other ways as he served as a mentor to some of the team’s younger players and even helped coach his teammates during games.
Iguodala has yet to announce his plans for the upcoming season, but did let fans know where to watch for his decision.
Iguodala Will Tell Fans About Warriors Decision
As The Athletic’s Anthony Slater noted, the Warriors’ training camp is coming up soon and Iguodala has decided how he will let fans know what he plans to do.
“Andre Iguodala says he will announce his return-or-retire decision on his podcast at some point,” Slater tweeted on September 10. “But no decision yet. Warriors open training camp two weeks from tomorrow.”
.@andre has been “hearing the chatter” recently, so he wants to share some info. #NBATwitter
For the full episode of PF, with @thekidet and @andre, be sure to tap in. #pointforwardfriday
The Warriors have made it clear that Iguodala has a roster spot waiting for him if he does choose to return, and head coach Steve Kerr said they plan to check in with him soon.
“We’ll touch base in the next couple days,” Kerr said during an appearance on 95.7 The Game‘s Damon & Ratto this week.
“[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.”
Iguodala hasn’t hinted which way he’s leaning, but said in a July appearance on the Dubs Talk” podcast that his physical conditioning isn’t a worry.
“I like basketball,” Iguodala said. “I actually like training, too. Summer training is probably the hardest thing. People don’t understand that to really get ready for a season what your body has to go through.
“I’m trying to reflect on the season, enjoy it, enjoy being a champion. And if that time comes … I don’t know if it’s going to be a tough decision, but I’m ready for whatever.”
Warriors Plan Camp Competition for Roster Spot
While the team is waiting for an official decision from Iguodala, they are preparing for an open battle in camp for the final roster spot. The team has been holding workouts over the course of the summer, looking at veteran free agents to potentially fill out spots in training camp.
Shams Charania and Anthony Slater of The Athletic reported that the Warriors will bring some of those veterans back for camp, and in the last week looked at Ben McLemore, Elfrid Payton, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Kenneth Faried.
The Warriors are bringing in several veteran free agents for workouts this week, including:
◻️ Ben McLemore
◻️ Elfrid Payton
◻️ Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
◻️ Kenneth Faried
Story with @ShamsCharania and @anthonyVslater:
“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.
The Warriors took a similar strategy last offseason, bringing in a group of veterans to compete for the 15th and final roster spot. Journeyman guard Gary Payton II ended up winning out, earning a roster spot and eventually a key part of the team’s rotation.
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