Andre Iguodala to the Golden State Warriors: good move or bad?
Denver Nuggets shooting guard Andre Iguodala (9) and Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry (30) during Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round Series at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colo. on April 23, 2013. They will be teammates at GSW next season. (Getty Images)
After losing to the Houston Rockets in the chase for centre Dwight Howard, the Golden State Warriors have signed small forward Andre Igoudala from the Denver Nuggets.
Best known as a defensive specialist, Igoudala led the Nuggets to a franchise best regular season in the 2013 NBA season (57-25) before getting knocked out in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, interestingly, by the Warriors.
Igoudala has had interest around the league with teams like the Atlanta Hawks and the Houston Rockets. He also had an option with the Nuggets but decided to opt out ultimately choosing to sign with the team that shattered Denver’s and Igoudala’s playoffs hopes last season.
There has been speculation that this move may hurt the Warriors. Having seen Jarret Jack, arguably their best bench contributor and runner-up for sixth man of the year leave for the Cleveland Cavaliers and Carl Landry, another scoring threat off the bench, leave for the Sacramento Kings, it leaves a scoring hole to be filled.
Igoudala isn’t best known for his scoring abilities but can produce some offence. But the question remains: what do the Warriors do with Harrison Barnes?
Barnes who had a breakout rookie year, played small forward for the Warriors and had a great season averaging 9.2 points and 4.1 rebounds but was also a key contributor in clinching the series win over the Nuggets.
With Igoudala coming in and being the small forward starter, the question is, can and will Barnes provide the bench scoring that Golden State needs?
On the other hand, this leaves Denver scrambling. After already firing long-time coach George Karl and GM Masai Ujiri, they now lose their franchise cornerstone. The Nuggets have expressed their interest in signing scoring specialist from the Milwaukee Bucks, Monta Ellis.
Ellis would provide a much need scoring boost for the Nuggets but lacks the defensive presence that Igoudala provided. Nuggets also have some unrestricted free agents they are hoping to resign.
Corey Brewer being one of them, as he played a huge role in Denver’s success coming off the bench, as he managed 12 points per game last season.
Denver have made some new changes in order to start the era without Igoudala by signing Brian Shaw as their new coach, and also signing power forward and centre J.J Hickson from the Portland Trail Blazers to a three-year deal.
While the Golden State Warriors hope to improve on an already breakout season, the Denver Nuggets will hope to clinch a playoff spot, which may be hard to come by.