Andre Igudola may help solve a couple of issues for the Minnesota Timberwolves, including defense and veteran leadership.
With free agency coming up, the Minnesota Timberwolves have a lot of areas they need to improve on.
They need to find a solution to their abysmal defense, lack of shooting, veteran leadership and depth.
There isn’t any one acquisition that can solve all of these problems. However, there is one free agent that comes pretty close and that’s Andre Iguodala.
Iggy has been a jack of all trades his whole career, which is perfect for a Timberwolves team whose roster is full of talent and potential but lacks players with versatility.
His impact on a team goes well beyond the stat line. He simply plays a winning brand of basketball. It’s why every team he’s joined immediately improved upon his acquisition.
He would immediately help in improving the defense, providing great perimeter defense and leadership on that end as well.
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He might not be in his athletic prime anymore, but he’s still able to play lockdown defense against the toughest wing players in the league. His two inclusions on all defensive team and his Finals MVP are testaments to that.
It’s foolish to believe that one player can fix an entire defense, but having Iguodala at your disposal is always helpful.
He would also help the Timberwolves improve offensively.
He can work on and off the ball as he has shown in Golden State extensively. There are barely any small forwards who are as good at distributing the ball.
He would provide the offense with great ball movement, an area that they might need help with due to the possibility of Ricky Rubio being traded away.
This would be crucial on a team full of score-first players. He can also provide spacing off the ball as he shoots a respectable 37 percent from beyond the arc.
With this level of versatility, his fit on this team shouldn’t even be a question.
He’s comfortable taking any role on a team. He can come off the bench like for the Warriors leading the second unit to reach new heights of productivity.
He can also start for the team allowing Zach LaVine or Andrew Wiggins to become the deadliest scorers off the bench in the league.
More importantly, his skill set allows the young core to thrive while hiding their apparent weaknesses.
His impact would be apparent in the locker room as well. With 13 years of experience and two finals appearances, very few players can provide his veteran leadership. He would bring a calming presence to a team that has let it’s youth take them down on the court on more then a few occasions.
I’m sure many are wondering how would it be possible to lure him away from the Warriors, a historically great team.
The answer is quite simple: money. The reason why the Warriors have been able to form this powerhouse has been Stephen Curry‘s absolute heist of a contract.
However, with the reigning unanimous MVP due for free agency you could bet he’ll be getting what he’s worth this time around.
Kevin Durant can opt out of his contract as well for a larger deal. This could leave Iggy no choice but to sign well below market value.
The Minnesota Timberwolves, for now, are mostly paying their core rookie scale contracts. They can offer him a large short term contract.
It might become more enticing for him to sign with this up and coming team, making much more money subsequently.
Furthermore, the Timberwolves can pay him largely at first while making sure he doesn’t take too much cap space when the core’s contract extensions kick in.
All in all, this is a match made in heaven.
Andre Iguodala is the perfect role player for this team (or any team for that matter).
Next: Minnesota Timberwolves Free Agency : Andrew Bogut
One can only hope that luck turns their way and Thibodeau can steal him from the Bay Area. There is no doubt in my mind he will keep proving it in the playoffs.