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After the Memphis Grizzlies are reportedly unwilling to work out a buyout agreement with forward Andre Iguodala, teams around the NBA are willing to play the waiting game in hopes he'll become available if no teams bites and offers a trade in exchange.
“What the Grizzlies are doing, it is to be expected,” one league executive told Sean Deveney of Heavy.com. “They’re looking at him as an asset and they want to get something in return for him. He’s under contract, so they hold all the cards. The worst he can do is not show up and it is not like Memphis is going to be playing for a playoff spot. Him not showing up wouldn’t help anything. But if you’re on the outside, those teams, they’re just waiting it out.”
The Grizzlies initially sought out a first-round pick, which they got from the Golden State Warriors when completing the initial trade to take on his $17 million salary. Having hauled him in and seeing the interest from teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, who are connected to Iguodala through former agent and now-general manager Rob Pelinka, the Grizzlies set their price on a first-round pick in exchange for Iguodala.
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Other teams are hoping that if the market is dry for the veteran, the Grizzlies will have no choice but to negotiate a buyout with Iguodala, at which point he will hit the waiver wire and consequently the free agent pool if he clears waivers.
Iguodala, who is also the vice president of the National Basketball Players Association, has remained quiet since being traded by Golden State, though he clearly is hoping to play for a contender at this stage of his career.
