Andre Iguodala had himself an interesting first half to the NBA season. For those who don't know, Iguodala was traded to the Memphis Grizzlies in the summer and didn't play a single game for the team. Young Grizzlies stars like Dillon Brooks and Ja Morant were critical of Iguodala who was clearly avoiding the team in hopes of being traded. Eventually, Iguodala was sent to the Miami Heat in exchange for a wide variety of pieces. Last night, Iggy got to play his very first game with the Heat and he put up two points, six rebounds, and three assists.
Iguodala has been subjected to a lot of backlash for his holdout with the Grizzlies although as he told The Athletic, it was actually the Grizzlies' idea. In fact, they came to him wondering if he would prefer to sit the first half of the season, knowing the Grizzlies weren't his ideal situation.
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Per Iguodala:
"Well, that’s always going to be the case. That’s what I’m saying. That’s why I said I didn’t do anything special, and that’s why I’m saying that I’m joking about the ‘case study’ part because there was a mutual agreement. … It was brought to me, you understand what I’m saying? It was brought to me. The (Warriors) trade happens, and it’s brought to me, (and he’s told), “Hey, we know you’re coming from this situation and, you know, it may not be ideal for you…”
I never approached anyone to say, “Hey, this is not somewhere that I want to be, and I’m not going to show up.” That never occurred. But that’s never going to get put out there because, you know…"
With this information in mind, it's clear the Grizzlies always had a plan from the start.