A firestorm was immediately created in the NBA universe when reports surfaced that DeMarcus Cousins would be heading to the Bay Area to join the Warriors. The center’s commitment marked the second ultra-high-profile free agent signing for the Warriors in three years, and their biggest acquisition by far since signing Kevin Durant in the summer of 2016.
The sixth man that will supplement those five incandescent stars, Andre Iguodala, covered several topics in an extensive interview with Sports Illustrated’s Ben Golliver, including why marquee free agents are so drawn to the Warriors.
“What we’re doing is playing basketball the right way,” Iguodala said. “We’re attracting a lot of people because they like the way we do things organically. We respect the game.”
He also opined on the importance of making moves like adding Cousins to take advantage of the Warriors’ championship window.
“For us, we understand that we have a tight window to build a certain type of culture that will attract athletes like DeMarcus Cousins,” Iguodala said. “To where he will say [that joining the Warriors] is his ‘perfect chess move.’”
Cousins and Durant added to the Warriors’ three incumbent All-Stars of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green to form perhaps the most intimidating starting five in NBA history. With all five players 30 or younger, the window could certainly stay open for a while longer.