How much can Andre Iguodala help Heat at 36? A look at the organization’s vision
Even with the Heat on a two-game skid after Friday’s loss to the Kings, there’s a sense of optimism and excitement surrounding the organization.
Not only because the Heat played shorthanded without key players like Jimmy Butler, Tyler Herro and Meyers Leonard in Sacramento. But also because the Heat knows it’s a better team that it was a few days ago after acquiring former NBA Finals MVP and quality two-way wing Andre Iguodala on Thursday as part of a three-team, seven-player deal with Memphis and Minnesota.
The Heat traded James Johnson, Dion Waiters and Justise Winslow and added Iguodala, and veterans Jae Crowder and Solomon Hill in the deal. Crowder could be part of Miami’s rotation and Hill adds front court depth, but the addition of Iguodala has some believing the Heat could be ready for a deep playoff run.
“Andre obviously brings championship pedigree,” coach Erik Spoelstra said, with the Heat continuing its five-game West Coast trip Sunday against the Trail Blazers. “Somebody who has played in so many big moments, that we really thought he would be a tremendous fit for what we have right now — the young players, to be able to add to the veteran leadership like Jimmy [Butler] and [Udonis Haslem] and Goran [Dragic]. That championship experience is invaluable. You can’t put a price on it.”
Iguodala won three NBA championships with the Warriors, as he spent the previous six seasons with Golden State. He played a major role on those teams, averaging 29.8 minutes of playing time in the 104 playoff games (40 starts) he appeared in with the Warriors.
With Iguodala now 36 years old and in his 16th NBA season, the question is: How much can he help the Heat at this late stage of his career? Especially considering it has been almost eight months since Iguodala last played in an NBA game, as he and the Grizzlies mutually agreed he would stay away from the team after Golden State traded him to Memphis this past summer.
But the Heat did its research, and the organization believes Iguodala can still have a big impact with his versatility on both ends of the court.
“What we got back, from all the people that we had talked to, or even from our analytic department here, is that everything from last year, he’s elite,” Heat president Pat Riley said of the research put into acquiring Iguodala. “He’s an elite defender, an elite team defender. He has an elite assist-to-turnover percentage. He ranks up into the top of those areas that are real tangible. And, so, you don’t lose that in seven months. And probably it was a blessing in disguise that he didn’t play for seven months.”
The Heat’s hope is Crowder and Hill will be able to make their Heat debuts, or at least be available, Sunday against the Trail Blazers. But the timetable for Iguodala’s debut is more uncertain since he has not played in an NBA game yet this season.
“When I talked to him, he said, ‘I got to gain some weight.’ I think he weighed in at 216 and six percent [body fat],” Riley said of Iguodala. “So he’s in shape. He definitely is going to have to get his basketball leg under him. But we’re confident that he’s healthy and he’s excited and he can really help us. And that’s why we went after him.”
Iguodala is a versatile defender who can take some of the defensive load off of Jimmy Butler, and can play late-game minutes next to Bam Adebayo and Butler to create very switchable defensive lineups.
The addition of Iguodala should help improve a Heat defense that has been average this season with the league’s 14th-best defensive rating. Those guarded by Iguodala shot 43.4 percent against him (2.4 percent worse than their normal shooting percentage) and the Warriors posted a quality 104.6 defensive rating when Iguodala was on the court last season (the best individual defensive rating on Golden State’s roster among those who played in at least 15 games).
“He definitely helps with his perimeter defense,” Heat center Kelly Olynyk said. “When you got multiple All-Stars on other teams that you got to guard on the perimeter, it helps having guys. You can’t put Jimmy on everybody. Now you have two guys who are very good. He also helps in switching situations and he has guarded power forwards, centers now. Basically he can guard one through five. It gives your defense a lot of versatility.”
Offensively, Iguodala is a player who can initiate offense while also playing off the ball as a spot-up shooter, and he doesn’t need many shots to make an impact. He averaged 5.7 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 33.3 percent shooting on threes while dishing out 3.2 assists per game last season.
Iguodala shot 33.9 percent on catch-and-shoot threes and 25-of-61 (41 percent) on corner threes last season.
“I want to make plays all over the court, inside and outside,” Iguodala said of his vision for his role with the Heat. “Being able to show different facets of my game, whether it be catching and shooting or creating for guys or causing havoc on the defensive end. I’m really exciting about the opportunity of showing off all the facets of my game.”
Ask Heat players, and they see similarities between Iguodala and Winslow. Iguodala is expected to play a very similar role to the one Winslow had when he was healthy.
“Somebody that can get us into offense and initiate it, and also go on the other end and take the challenge defensively,” Haslem said. “Maybe sometimes give Jimmy a break, Bam and those guys a little bit of a break defensively with taking the challenge against the best player. It helps us in a lot of different areas.”
Olynyk said of Iguodala: “He can handle the ball, get into different actions and triggers. Obviously if you leave him, he can make shots. Kind of does all that kind of stuff. He’s kind of a glorified ultimate Swiss Army knife. Kind of the epitome of it. Probably one of the first ones who embodied that. I think it helps us on and off the court.”
Kings coach Luke Walton, who was a Warriors assistant coach during part of Iguodala’s time in Golden State, called Iguodala “a winner.”
“He loves the big moments,” Walton said. “He has a lot to share knowledge wise. He’s a champion. If you’re going after it, which it seems like Miami is making that push right now. They believe in this group. To bring somebody like that in, you instantly get better. Especially in playoff time, he makes a lot of winning plays when you need it the most.”
That’s the Heat’s vision — Iguodala’s experience and two-way skill helping push Miami to a deep playoff run behind its All-Star duo of Adebayo and Butler. Add in the young core of Tyler Herro, Derrick Jones Jr., Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson with a veteran like Dragic, and the Heat believes it has a mix that can compete in the postseason.
“We got a lot of pieces, man. Andre is definitely going to add to that,” Butler said. “But I think just being able to pick his brain. We have him who has won it multiple times, we have UD who has won it multiple times. They know what it takes to get there. Not only get there, but to win it.
“Andre knows how to do that on both sides of the ball. He’s super smart. There’s nothing that he cannot do. Everybody else gets to learn from him.”
When Lakers superstar forward LeBron James learned of his former team’s acquisition of Iguodala, what was his reaction?
“I saw it and I was like, ‘OK,’” James told reporters. “I think it makes them a better team because of his championship DNA, you add that to that championship culture down there. So it helps them right away ... I know that ‘Dre is happy to be suiting it back up.”
When speaking about the impact Iguodala can still have late in his career, Riley alluded to James.
“As long as he’s healthy, and he can play, we got a player,” Riley said of Iguodala. “And he just turned 36. There’s a guy out in LA who just turned 35. And I’m not comparing him to him, but age-wise, in today’s game in the NBA, players like Andre, who take care of their body, are religious to conditioning, it just comes to the point where they would say, ‘I don’t want to play anymore; I want to retire.’ He does not want to and I think he’s going to really help us.”
