At the beginning of the 2014-15 season, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr asked the main man of the team to come off the bench. While Steve Kerr had just signed on as the head coach for the Warriors, Andre Iguodala was a long-time veteran making an impressive $12 million per annum. Despite Iguodala being accustomed to starting, the team’s new head coach proposed the idea to him. What else would you expect from ‘Iggy’? Of course, he wasn’t thrilled.

“When Steve brought me off the bench, it threw me off because I was playing well. Like I said before, I got punished for playing well,” Iguodala said on 7 PM in Brooklyn with Carmelo Anthony and Kid Mero. As starting is meaningful to most players across the league, Iguodala did not deny that the new coach’s recent move bothered him to the extent he thought to himself that his career was done for.

And why not? He was among the top players at that time. As he entered 2014, he was in his full form as he hit a game-winning three-point shot during the Warriors’ matchup against the Atlanta Hawks. Meanwhile, he also averaged 14 points and nine assists.

But Kerr, unmoved by AI’s stats, focused on his strategy. “I’m starting, he’s like, no man, we’re a way better team if you come off the bench.” I’m like, “wait, I did so good that I got demoted,” he added. At last, the 31-year-old was benched, but Iguodala had a plan.

As Kerr divided the team into the first group and the second group based on the most competitiveness in the practice games, Iguodala was kept in the second group. And it seemed to be the right time to execute his plans, and Iguodala defeated the opponent team. “I’m like I’m busting their a**.” Additionally, in the 2014-15 season, he became the first MVP to have not started every game in the Finals.

But the question is, what was the reason behind Kerr benching Iguodala? Basically, it was part of a plan to benefit Iguodala’s teammate.

Kerr’s strategy that paid off

So it all started with Harrison Barnes, the team’s forward. Barnes had an impressive $3 million salary, and he had been starting over the experienced and expensive players because Kerr wanted to grow him as a player. But, to silence all the reports, Kerr played strategically and moved AI from the starting rotation to reserve. Coming back to Iguodala, he was bothered by Kerr’s decision, but at the same time, he did not want his role to become a distraction.

Iguodala could have complained to reporters or questioned why Harrison Barnes was starting over experienced and expensive players. In fact, he had the option to push for a trade to other NBA teams for a different role that would be commensurate with his contract. However, he did nothing.

Despite being disappointed over Kerr’s decision, he respected the new coach and understood the mechanism behind the move. At last, the swap worked well for both Barnes and Iguodala. While AI finished the series with 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds, Harrison Barnes averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds in 6 games. But the question is: was all that happened with Andre Iguodala correct? Comment down below!

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