Lakers Still Want Andre Iguodala For Final Roster Spot

The final, 15th roster spot of the Los Angeles Lakers is still empty. There have been some speculations around that and while there is a chance that they might be saving it for some surprising player they spot at training camp, it has been obvious for weeks that the Lakers have very specific plans for that slot. They want Andre Iguodala to fill it.

So far, the Grizzlies have been refusing to consider a buyout for Iguodala. They want to trade him and acquire at least one first-round pick. They already acquired such a pick from the Golden State Warriors in agreeing to take on his salary, but they want to use Iguodala’s value to contending teams to net another one.

The Los Angeles Clippers and Houston Rockets are also interested in Iguodala, but both are far from aggregating enough salary to make a trade feasible. So, unless another team steps up, it seems likely that Iguodala will get his buyout eventually.

It is just a matter of time actually. The Grizzlies will probably keep Iguodala into the season in the hopes that circumstances change. If they do buy him out, that will likely come after the trade deadline in February. With these circumstances, Lakers would have to hold the roster spot for most of the season or waive a player with a guaranteed salary. Neither option is for the Lakers, but would be well worth it to land Iguodala.

Andre Iguodala has had a marvelous career, having landed three championships, an All-Star title (2012) and having made two All-Defensive teams. This past season with the Golden State Warriors he averaged 5.7 points and 3.2 assists in 23 minutes. All in all, he is a shutdown defender, a terrific decision maker and would make a great addition to the Lakers team.