The Golden State Warriors made one of the biggest moves of the NBA offseason when they signed free agent Andre Iguodala after interests from a number of teams and now that they have added him to the roster, the team is ready to make another playoff run with Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.
The Warriors were one of the surprise teams in the playoffs last season and this summer at one point they had a chance to try and make a deal with the Bucks for restricted free agent point guard Brandon Jennings, according to Yahoo Sports, but once other deals were made the team backed off that option. Mark Jackson is thrilled to have Iguodala in the fold, as he is an exceptional defender and can score the basketball and he will be able to take pressure off Curry and stop teams from double teaming the shooting aficionado.
The Warriors feel that they are entering a new era after defeating the Nuggets in the playoffs and signing Iguodala as well as Toney Douglas helps alleviate the loss of Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, who both signed elsewhere. Jack signed a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers after starring off the bench for the Warriors, while Landry signed a four-year deal to return to the Sacramento Kings after having a solid season.
Douglas's deal became official this week and he will help make up for the loss of Jack on a four-year, $25 million deal with Cleveland after averaging 7.5 points and 2.1 assists in 18.1 minutes per game. There is a chance he will get more playing time than he did last season with the Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings and he will provide depth on the roster for Jackson, who now will be signed with the team through the 2015 season after the team picked up his option.
Jackson has been a huge reason for the team's turnaround, as the Warriors were 23-43 before going 47-35 last season. The playoffs were a huge deal, as the Nuggets were a 57-win team that looked unbeatable at home, but the Warriors took them down and moved on into the second round where they also gave the Spurs fits. Douglas was originally drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers and also played for the Knicks and he has career averages of 8.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 246 career regular-season NBA games.
