John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
From purgatory to Miami. Without a trip to the Bay in sight.
The Heat are here to rescue Andre Iguodala from Memphis, where he has refused to report and where his ostensible teammates have turned on him in recent days.
A day before the NBA trade deadline, the Grizzlies and Heat agreed on a trade, according to ESPN, that will send the 2015 Finals MVP not just to South Beach, but back into the league in a season that he’s been absent from. The pieces the Heat have parted with were not immediately clear.
According to the report, Iguodala will not just report to the 34-15 squad that’s battling for East supremacy, but stay there. The 36-year-old reportedly agreed on a two-year, $30 million extension to join a team led by Jimmy Butler and All-Star Bam Adebayo, as Pat Riley pushes for another run to the Finals. According to The Athletic, the second year — 2021-22 — is a team option.
The extension will take him off the market this offseason, so he will not be joining Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson & Co. for a rejuvenated Warriors team next season, which had seemed like a foregone conclusion.
Just a day prior, Curry was defending Iguodala from his Grizzlies teammates who didn’t appreciate him staying away from a team that was supposed to be rebuilding. That bit of quiet recruiting did not work, with Iguodala’s next stop being more permanent than most expected.
If Iggy is ready to play, though, Golden State will see him soon: The Warriors and Heat face off at Chase Center on Monday.
