Golden State Warriors: Signing Andre Iguodala Was A Long-Shot

July 11, 2013; Oakland, CA, USA; Andre Iguodala (left) poses for a photo with Golden State Warriors general manager Bob Myers (right) in a press conference after a sign-and-trade deal for Iguodala to become a Golden State Warriors player at the Warriors Practice Facility. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

"When it was over, on July 5, Warriors general manager Bob Myers was finally able to exhale a long, satisfying breath. The previous five days had been a whirlwind, with Golden State one of five teams included in the very public chase of the league’s top free agent—center Dwight Howard—all while pulling strings behind the scenes in hopes of landing Denver wing Andre Iguodala, a better fit for the upstart team.– Sean Deveney, Sporting News"

Most Warrior fans were happy with the Andre Iguodala signing, but do they have any idea how hard it was to actually acquire a person of his skill level? It was a long-shot that actually worked out. Maybe it was to provide an incentive to lure Dwight Howard, or maybe it was the fact that the Warriors gave up on the big man and pursued someone of equal interest.

Iguodala was offered a much bigger contract by the Dallas Mavericks, but he chose the Golden State Warriors simply because he wanted to work with one of the best young point guards in the NBA, Stephen Curry. His first tweet about it mentioned that he was excited to be a Warrior and Curry’s teammate. The Warriors did in fact sign Iguodala, and this will hopefully turn out to be one of the biggest free agency signings in Warrior history.

For the first time in recent memory, the Warriors seem to be championship contenders. Doesn’t that roll off the tongue well? The Warriors are championship contenders. It sounds weird, but get used to the idea. Iguodala was close to signing with a few other teams before choosing the Warriors, but that’s all in the past now. Now that the Warriors are going to be contending this year, he’s just another big piece to an already-deep team that has a lot of promise for this 2013-2014 NBA season.

"Now, the coin has been flipped. The more Iguodala met with the Warriors, the more excited he was to join the team. However, Golden State did not have enough cap space to sign Iguodala, who was looking at offers in the neighborhood of four years and $52 million from the Kings and Mavericks, as well as a five-year, $60 million contract from Denver. But Iguodala’s enthusiasm drove the Warriors to keep searching for ways to dump salary."

No one exactly knew that Iguodala was so enthusiastic about coming to the Warriors as opposed to other teams like the Nuggets, Kings, and Mavericks. Many would have liked to have him on board, but few were actually able to interest him. Curry and the Warriors proved most alluring in the end, despite financial issues. Very little people were focused on the Iguodala-dramas because everyone was excited about Howard possibly moving to the Bay Area.