The Houston Rockets are among the Western Conference contenders still hoping to pursue veteran defensive ace Andre Iguodala, if he ultimately receives a buyout from the Memphis Grizzlies.
In a Friday update, Marc Stein of The New York Times listed the Rockets and both Los Angeles teams (Lakers, Clippers) as among those squads hoping that Iguodala becomes a buyout candidate later this season.
Because the Grizzlies seem intent on trying to trade Iguodala first, any potential Iguodala buyout would appear unlikely until after the 2019-20 NBA trade deadline on Feb. 6, 2020. Iguodala would need to be bought out by March 1 in order to be playoff eligible with his next team.
The Grizzlies remain convinced they can find a trade partner for Iguodala and his $17.2 million salary before the Feb. 6 trade deadline … while teams like the Lakers, Clippers and Rockets stubbornly retain hope that the former Warriors defensive ace becomes a buyout candidate
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) December 20, 2019
Now 35 years old, Iguodala was traded to Memphis in July purely to cut costs after Golden State faced a hard salary cap due to the double sign-and-trade deal involving Kevin Durant and D’Angelo Russell. The Grizzlies actually received a future first-round pick to take on Iguodala, who has one year and $17.2 million left on his contract.
For Memphis, the primary value of the trade was believed to be that future draft selection, since Iguodala wouldn’t seem to be a fit for the rebuilding Grizzlies at this advanced stage of his career. Thus, many around the NBA have believed that Iguodala would eventually be bought out of his contract, as occurs with numerous veterans on bad teams every season that are in the final year of their contracts.
But to this point, the Grizzlies have held firm on not buying him out and are instead continuing to try and trade Iguodala for more assets. During this process, Iguodala is working out privately away from the team to stay in game shape while awaiting his next destination.
The Rockets, who are well above the NBA’s salary cap, are likely unable to trade for Iguodala — even if they wanted to. This is because they lack the mid-tier salary fillers necessary to approach his $17-million contract and make a deal legal under the league’s collective bargaining agreement. However, reports over the summer indicated that the Rockets believed Iguodala would be a good fit in Houston.
In recent weeks, reports have suggested that the Rockets (19-9) are attempting to add wing depth to their team. At 6-foot-6 and extremely versatile on defense, Iguodala would certainly seem to fit the bill.
As far as Iguodala is concerned, the problem for GM Daryl Morey and the Rockets could be his California roots. Considering he played his last six seasons with the Warriors, either the Lakers (24-5) or Clippers (21-9) would offer a much shorter commute to home than Houston.
But it seems the Rockets still want the opportunity to make their pitch, if Iguodala ultimately becomes a free agent. And if only a small handful of weeks are left in the 2019-20 season by the time Iguodala makes his choice, perhaps that could make geography slightly less of a priority.
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