“Had a Bad Odor to it”: Former Coach Says Andre Iguodala’s Controversial Signing With Golden State Warriors Was Fishy

Golden State Warriors turned into a super-team with the arrival of Andre Iguodala. His arrival rejuvenated the franchise, and he won the Finals MVP in the team’s first title in 2015. Iguodala’s positive feelings towards the Warriors were evident even before he joined them, according to former Denver Nuggets head coach George Karl.

Iguodala’s former coach in Denver, Karl, stirred the pot with details of Iguodala’s exit from the Nuggets for the Warriors.

“Yeah. I don’t know what the real story is, but there were things there that we saw on film. There was something with Mark Jackson and him that was fishy. Had a bad odor to it. It was negative energy.” 

Karl continued by saying, “The team gradually figured it out that Iggy was kind of favoring Golden State’s Jackson. His comments were a little bit irregular. But Iggy played well in that series. He played very well for us.”

He also referred to Mark Jackson, who said that someone revealed to him that Denver was sending ‘hit-men’ at superstar point guard Steph Curry. In 2013, Karl said that he had ‘no doubt‘ that Mark Jackson’s mole was Iguodala.

Golden State Warriors and how they got Andre Iguodala

Iguodala wasn’t drafted by Denver when he entered the league. Iggy made his name while playing for the Philadelphia 76ers. He spent 8 long years with the team, but never saw any success. These were the notoriously bad ‘The Process’ 76ers, who weren’t looking to excel on the court. Iggy emerged as an all-star and was sent to Denver for the last year of his deal. Iggy was a part of the complicated four-team deal which ultimately led to Dwight Howard ending up on the Lakers.

The Nuggets with Iggy were one of the best teams in the Western Conference. However, they were upset by the rising Golden State Warriors team, which led to the firing of George Karl. Iggy played well in the series and was offered a 5-year extension by the Nuggets. But he would turn it down and sign with the Warriors. By 2015, he vanquished LeBron James and stood tall as the 2015 Finals MVP.