Looney is back, but departing Iguodala sure to be missed.
Andre Iguodala: Accepting role off bench helped spur title stretch
Looking back over the Warriors’ fiveseason run of amazingness, it seems like it was inevitable. Destiny. With that talent, how could all the cool stuff not have happened?
Well, there were some tipping points along the way when it all could have blown up.
One of those crucial moments came before the 201415 season started, when new head coach Steve Kerr asked Andre Iguodala to step out of the starting lineup.
The banner headline could have been:
Rookie coach to star forward: ‘Grab some pine, Meat’ Kerr freely acknowledges that he was at the mercy of his players. Had they rejected any of his new ideas, he would have been laughed at, then fired. Benching Iguodala — or, more accurately, making him the sixth man — was Kerr’s boldest idea.
Iguodala could have said no. Or protested. Or sulked. Or demanded to be traded.
He had started 806 NBA games in a row. He was a man who carried himself with dignity. The season before, he averaged 32 minutes, 9.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.2 assists. He was the Warriors’ primary lockdown defender.
That Iguodala went along with Kerr’s wacky idea shows the level of Iguodala’s basket
ball genius. He was not thrilled, but he listened to Kerr’s logic, then was able and willing to carry out the plan.
Iguodala’s acceptance of Kerr, who replaced Mark Jackson, was as infectious as the plague. A dynasty was hatched. There is a reason Iguodala titled his new autobiography “The Sixth Man.”
Now, five seasons later, the Warriors will have to figure out how to replace a player unique in basketball history.
Yeah, the “babysitter” will be missed.
That’s how Kerr liked to refer to Iguodala, as the babysitter: the person who steps into chaos and restores order. When the parents return home, the kids are eating glutenfree muffins while they finish their homework.
It’s not that Iguodala was more mature than his teammates. He could act as silly and jokey as any player. But when he checked into a game, the beds got made and the toys got put in their boxes.
“We don’t need a babysitter,” Draymond Green scoffed last season when that nickname was mentioned. “We’re grownass men.”
But they needed Iguodala. This is no shot at Kevin Durant as he walks away, but the argument could be made that Iguodala was more vital to the Warriors’ fiveseason run than Durant was.
Iguodala’s ability to play long stretches of intricate, breakneck basketball without making mistakes, while pulling his teammates into sync with him, is special. His steadiness is freaky.
Sometime in his six seasons with the Warriors, Iguodala must have thrown a sloppy pass or misread a teammate’s cut, but good luck recalling one such moment.
It surely pained owner Joe Lacob, general manager Bob Myers and Kerr to trade Iguodala, but they had no choice. He was the Warriors’ only tradeable player. It’s called “salary shedding,” it sounds so businesslike, but there’s a human face to it.
Ideally, Iguodala would have stayed to help the Warriors through next season’s rough transition, then led them to another title or two, then paused on his way out the door to pose for the bronze statue.
Instead, we’ll have to settle for memories. Like Game 4 of the 2015 Finals, a tipping point in the Warriors’ history.
It was desperation time. The Cavaliers had won two in a row to take a 21 series lead. The Warriors’ dream season was dying in rusty old Cleveland. Kerr — on the suggestion of an assistant — plugged Iguodala back into the starting lineup.
Again, history can be glossy. Most remember that Iguodala scored 22 points that night to spark a Warriors win.
All but forgotten: Kerr’s desperate experiment started with a thud. Iguodala missed his first shot, a 3point attempt, and the Cavs stormed to a 70 lead in just more than two minutes.
Kerr called a timeout. To remove Iguodala? No, Kerr knew this was Iggy time: Warriors up against it, on the road, crowd howling, roof caving in, dream floating away.
Out of the TO, Stephen Curry hit a 3, then Iguodala knocked down a jumper. Before the quarter was out, Iguodala added two dunks and a 3pointer to give the Warriors a 3122 lead.
The Warriors won Games 4, 5 and 6 with Iguodala starting. He played 118 pressurecooker minutes in those three games, running the offense much of the time. He committed one turnover.
That’s some grownass babysitting.