At this point in his career, Andre Iguodala is now the elder statesman for the Golden State Warriors. He's played this role for quite a while now, actually, but to the delight of Dubs fans, the former NBA Finals MVP has recently decided to run it back for one final season.
Apart from providing quality minutes off the bench for head coach Steve Kerr, Iguodala also plays perhaps a more important role in terms of helping in the development of the younger guys on the squad.
Iguodala actually has a few things to say in this respect. According to the 18-year veteran (turning 19 this coming season), the NBA has evolved in such a way that the younger generation of players is not given ample opportunities to really reach their potential (via Marcus Thompson II of The Athletic):
“These young kids, their careers are shortening,” Iguodala said. “And it’s a reason — because they’re trying to chew too much off of it before it should be occurring. It’s like an evolution. I had a really good conversation with one of the execs in the league and he says we’ve got to raise the bottom of our league because we’re having too high of a turnover. … It took Kobe Bryant some years to really become Kobe Bryant. … We aren’t letting these kids fail. They’re failing and we’re just criticizing them. We’re writing them off, and then they don’t have an opportunity. We’ve got guys out the league at 21, 22, which is crazy. Right? So I think it’s just letting them develop. Let them go through actual hardships. Let them go through a rookie wall. … We’ve all got to go through it. It’s just a part of the maturation process for our young guys.”
It feels like a chicken and egg situation. Young players try to do so much so early on, which is also brought about by the fact that the league expects so much from them. In his mind, Iguodala believes that this has to change. It is also clear that he's trying to do his part in trying to be an agent for change.
Dubs shot-caller Steve Kerr can attest to this notion:
“We have so many young guys,” coach Steve Kerr said, “and they need coaching, they need mentoring, and Andre is the best there is with that. And he loves, loves working with younger guys. As a player, he sort of makes everything work because he knows exactly where he needs to be. He makes every lineup click. And if he’s not on the court, he’s teaching these young guys the same thing. So Andre’s a really crucial part of our whole program.”
Iguodala may no longer be the dominant force he once was, but there's no denying that he still remains to be one of the most important players on the Warriors roster.
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