Brooklyn Nets: don’t even think about pursuing Andre Iguodola
The Brooklyn Nets have a clear need at the small forward position. General Manager Sean Marks made that clear in his season-closing remarks to YES Network. That doesn’t necessarily mean the Nets should acquire the best forwards available.
For Brooklyn Nets fans, free agency will be an exciting time. The possibilities are endless. Well not exactly.
No free agent that can be considered the final piece for a contending team won’t consider the Nets. The Nets are not one piece away from dethroning the Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference.
They are many pieces short from having a contender. In fact, they are probably several players away from even contending for a playoff spot.
The next few years for the Brooklyn Nets will be about patience. That much we know. That doesn’t preclude the Nets from signing away young pieces. The team can seek value in mid-level free agents as well. The team did as much last offseason by adding Trevor Booker and Jeremy Lin.
This offseason there are several intriguing names hitting the free agent market. One of them is the 2015 NBA Finals MVP, Andre Iguodola.
Shams Charania of the Vertical reported today that the versatile forward would consider offers from teams other than the Warriors. His resigning with Golden State was once a formality. Now it is unclear whether or not the 33-year-old will return to the defending champions.
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Iggy makes any team better. His presence on the Warriors elevated them in his initial season, where the team won over 50 games. Iguodola’s selflessness led to him taking on a sixth man role with the team in 2014-15. Under new coach Steve Kerr, he put his ego aside helped the team unlock its true potential. His defense on LeBron James helped the team overcome the Cavaliers and win its first championship since the 1970’s.
No one should argue his value. He has been an integral bench piece to a budding dynasty in the Bay Area.
That said, the Brooklyn Nets shouldn’t even think about pursuing Iguodola.
Marks has been frugal with his cap space so far as GM. He has yet to sign any deal larger than $12 million a year. He hasn’t taken back any bad contracts worse than Andrew Nicholson’s $6 million per year salary.
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While he may be ready to spend more than usual this offseason, he likely would only do it to acquire a draft pick or a young player.
Signing Iguodola accomplishes neither. It is true that he would make the Nets better. Fans definitely want to see a better on-court product next season and beyond.
Spending big money on a 12-year veteran doesn’t fit the mold of what the Nets are trying to accomplish. Given that the Warriors have won two of the past three championships and the Nets had the worst record of the year, the only conceivable way Brooklyn can sign Iggy away would be throwing him a max contract.
Iguodola isn’t the final piece though. Spending most of your cap space on one player when the Nets have needs all over the roster isn’t a smart move. It’s a Billy King-type move. The Nets (for obvious reasons) need to avoid doing those for the next few years, if not forever.
Winning now isn’t the number one goal. Player development is. The team needs to give its core players like Caris LeVert and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson more opportunities and minutes to grow. They also need to allow its incoming draft picks to grow with the system. That entails giving big minutes to the young guns at the expense of immediate contention.
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Iguodola is a good signing for most teams in the NBA. For the Brooklyn Nets, he would be soaking up minutes that would otherwise be given to their youth.
Yes, he would be a locker room leader. He would facilitate for his teammates and improve the team’s defense, which ranked 29th in the NBA. Iguodola is a great player.
He just isn’t a fit for the Brooklyn Nets. Sorry Nets fans, he probably won’t be looking at Brooklyn anway.