Andre Iguodala hailed as the ‘unsung hero’ of the Warriors by Steve Kerr

Andre Iguodala’s departure with the Golden State Warriors was an amicable one, but it apparently left Steve Kerr with a hole in his gut. Apparently, the two men have been so closed during Iggy’s tenure with the Warriors that the trust Kerr placed him in him was next to none.

Kerr recently sat down with the guys over at “The Warriors Insider Podcast,” and he shared how “devastated” he was when the team parted ways with Andre Iguodala. The 53-year-old coach said that the veteran swingman was the unsung hero whenever the team faced tremendous challenges in the past and is the reason why he holds a special place in Kerr’s heart.

"Guys in this profession come and go pretty quickly… But for what Andre [Iguodala] has meant to not only our team but to me personally, as a coach, for accepting his role, for mentoring younger players, for monitoring the bench and keeping everything going -- the respect that the stars had for him combined with his mentoring of the younger players -- Andre was the unsung hero of all of this,” Kerr said.

Andre Iguodala will not be with the Grizzlies for long

The talented forward is currently with the Memphis Grizzlies but isn’t expected to last long with the team since the franchise is currently rebuilding. Thus, there are multiple teams that are highly interested in landing Andre Iguodala, with the Lakers reportedly reserving an open spot for him should the Grizzlies buy him out.

Grizzlies unlikely to buy Andre Iguodala out

But that’s unlikely to happen, Fansided reported. The Grizzlies want to use Andre Iguodala as a trade asset to further solidify the rebuilding process of the team. And while the 35-year-old is at the twilight of his career, he has proven to be one reliable defender and threat on the floor, usually showing up when the team needed him the most.

Add the fact that Kerr – a well-accomplished coach in the league – holds Andre Iguodala in high regards and it’s unsurprising why other teams are itching to acquire him. But given that it’s so deep in the offseason with teams spending most of its resources away, Iggy will likely remain with the Grizzlies unless a team puts together an enticing trade. We’ll just have to wait which team is desperate enough to snatch him and what sort of deal they’ll come up with that would pry Iggy out the hands of the Grizzlies.