Andre Iguodala's short stint with the Denver Nuggets was a big “what if” for former coach George Karl, as the veteran swingman only spent one season there before signing with the Golden State Warriors in 2013.
Iguodala had been an All-Star before being traded to the Nuggets, but he soon re-routed to a different destination after a year under Karl, choosing to play for Mark Jackson the following season.
That prompted the following exchange with The Athletic’s Tim Kawakami on The TK Show podcast.
Via Drew Shiller of NBC Sports Bay Area:
Kawakami: “Did you have any issue with Iguodala being close to the Warriors and then he ends up signing with the Warriors — is that an issue in your mind at all?”
Karl: “Yeah. I don’t know what the real story is, but there were things there that we saw in film. There was something with Mark Jackson and him that was fishy. Had a bad odor to it. It was negative energy. “The team gradually figured it out that Iggy was kind of favoring Golden State’s Jackson. His comments were a little bit irregular. But Iggy played well in that series. He played very well for us.”
For those who don't remember, that 2013 playoff series against the Nuggets was filled with controversy, as the Nuggets violently blitzed Stephen Curry to keep him from hurting them from beyond the arc:
“They tried to send hit men (at Steph Curry),” Jackson said then. “The screen on Curry by the foul line is a shot at his ankle, clearly, it can’t be debated. I have inside information that some people don’t like that brand of basketball and they clearly didn’t co-sign it, so they wanted to let me know that they had no part in what was taking place.”
If this was Karl's game plan, then Iguodala surely didn't co-sign it. The Arizona product had forged a reputation as a lockdown defender and didn't need the dirty antics to make his presence felt.
There was also the fact that Iguodala pointed out to Karl that he should guard Klay Thompson, noting he was locked in during that playoff series. Karl refused, even though Thompson dropped 22 and 21 points, respectively, in the first two games of the six-game series.
Clearly Iguodala and Karl didn't see eye to eye then — making his exit rather not surprising, even if there was something “fishy” going on between him and Jackson.
Follow Us
Subscribe