An excellent feature by Chris Haynes of ESPN has shed new light on just how close Andre Iguodala was to leaving the Golden State Warriors this offseason. It’s been well documented that Iguodala had meetings with the Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Sacramento Kings, and Houston Rockets over the summer as he explored free-agency, but it remained unclear if he ever seriously considered signing with one of those teams, or if he was simply trying to make the Warriors nervous in order to get a more lucrative offer.
Based on Hayne’s reporting, it appears that the former is true. After closing the lines of communication with the Warriors for a day and a half, Iguodala called a “goodbye” meeting with Steve Kerr and Bob Myers in Los Angeles, and planned on signing with the Houston Rockets, as Golden State had been unwilling to offer a contract worth $16 million per year that he desired.
“The Warriors were granted a last-minute assembly out of respect. Iguodala had reopened the lines of communication with the Warriors and told Myers that if he still wanted to talk to ‘get down here.
“The Warriors had been in the dark for a day and a half and contacted representatives of free-agent small forwards Rudy Gay and Gerald Henderson as a contingency plan. But Myers immediately hopped on a plane from the Bay Area and Kerr was already in Los Angeles, having recently visited with free agent Nick Young. They didn’t know it, but Iguodala’s objective in sitting down with them was to personally say goodbye, sources with knowledge of the situation told ESPN.”
“…There was little hope for a resolution at this point. Iguodala wasn’t budging from his request to make at least $16 million per year. If the Warriors didn’t improve their offer, he was signing with the Rockets, sources said.”
Iguodala didn’t budge even when Kerr and Myers upped their offer to a three-year, $45 million deal. Eventually, a last minute call from Bob Myers to owner Joe Lacob saved the day, as Lacob ultimately approved the $48 million offer Iguodala was seeking.