Utah Jazz: Three names to monitor as we approach trade deadline

Andre Iguodala

When the Golden State Warriors traded Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies last summer, I liked the deal.

Memphis was moving on to a rebuilding era around Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. They could use a guy like Iguodala with playoff experience to mentor their youngsters. After all, Iggy was part of the Warriors dynasty that included five consecutive finals trips.

He could play in Memphis for a little while until the Grizzlies found a contending team to ship him off to. But the story has been much different. Iggy hasn’t suited up for the team, and hasn’t even attended any team events. No practice, no training camp, nada.

The Grizzlies front office has been dead set on finding a suitor for him in order to acquire some future assets. Both camps have held their ground so far, and no deal has been made.

It’s no secret that the Lakers want Iguodala, but they have no reason to give up assets to get him in Hollywood. They would be among the front runners to land Iggy if/when he is bought out.

There has been rumors the Dallas Mavericks were interested in him. Their core has limited playoff experience, and Iggy would be a welcome addition in Dallas.

He’s also been tied to rumors with the Denver Nuggets for a potential reunion. Iggy helped lead the Nuggets to overachieve and win 57 games in 2013-14. This time around there is no George Karl –  a big reason why Iggy left. And even better, there is a clear cut star on the roster in Nikola Jokic.

If any of these teams are able to acquire Iguodala before the stretch run of the season, the Jazz better look out. That would give them an extra man to guard Donovan Mitchell or Bojan Bogdanovic and shut them down in a potential playoff series.

Not to mention, it would also make the Jazz underdogs to get the second or third seed in the conference should Iggy land in Denver or with the Clippers.