On Friday reports surfaced that Denver Nuggets star swingman Andre Iguodala will opt out of the final year of his contract, and test free agency.
Iguodala averaged 13 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.4 assists per game in Denver last season. The 29 year-old swingman has averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in his career. He spent 8 seasons in Philadelphia before moving to Denver last offseason as part of the four team blockbuster deal that landed Andrew Bynum in Philadelphia, and Dwight Howard in Los Angeles with the Lakers. Iguodala was an NBA all-star in 2012.
Iguodala was set to be paid $16.2 million next season under his current contract. However under the terms of the new CBA could only negotiate a maximum 3 year extension with the Nuggets. As a free agent Iguodala will be able to negotiate a 5 year deal if re-signing with Denver (or in a sign and trade) or a 4 year deal if he goes to a new club.
Iguodala will join players such as Chris Paul, Dwight Howard, and Josh Smith on the free agent market. As it stands right now it would appear that Iguodala will be amongst the top 5 available players on the market, and he’s clearly banking on being highly sought after this summer. Iguodala’s value goes beyond his offensive production as he is known as a very good defender on the wing, and was a 2nd team all-defensive player in 2011.
While the Nuggets will attempt to re-sign Iguodala, the move potentially signals more turnover for the Nuggets, who have already lost GM Masai Ujiri to the Toronto Raptors, and have fired coach George Karl since losing their first round series to Golden State.
Iguodala won an Olympic Gold Medal with Team USA last summer in London.
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Photo Credit: Howcheng, Wiki Commons
