The surprise team of the NBA season is calling out a 36-year-old veteran for staying away all season while they surge to the playoffs
- After a win on Monday, Memphis Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks called out Andre Iguodala for staying away from the team while they surge into the playoff race.
- Iguodala was traded to the Grizzlies in the offseason but has not reported as he and the team have agreed to stay separated while the Grizzlies seek a trade to send him to a contending team.
- Brooks said he hopes the Grizzlies trade Iguodala so that they can beat him.
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The Memphis Grizzlies find themselves in the midst of the Western Conference playoff race, no thanks to Andre Iguodala.
The upstart Grizzlies moved to 25-25 on Monday with a 96-82 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Grizzlies, led by explosive rookie guard Ja Morant and dynamic second-year big man Jaren Jackson Jr., were poised to continue rebuilding this season, but instead have surged in recent weeks. Since December 8, they are 19-9, with a 2.9 net rating. They currently hold a two-game lead for the eighth seed in the West.
They've done it all without Iguodala, who was traded from the Golden State Warriors to the Grizzlies this summer in a contract-dump that allowed the Warriors to sign D'Angelo Russell. Iguodala has not been with the team all year, as the two sides have agreed to stay separated while the Grizzlies look for a trade for Iguodala.
After Monday's win, Grizzlies guard Dillon Brooks, averaging an impressive 16 points per game this season, called out Iguodala while speaking to reporters.
"A guy that's on our team doesn't want to be on our team," Brooks said. "I can't wait until we find a way to trade him so we can play him, and I can show him what really Memphis is about."
"Andre Iguodala is a great player," Brooks said. "I feel like he's doing the right thing for his career, but we don't really care. It's not a distraction at all. I laugh at that type of stuff."
Brooks' comments seemed to resonate with his teammates. Morant and guard De'Anthony Melton both responded on social media with emojis.
Iguodala's former teammate Stephen Curry seemed to chime in on the noise, posting a picture of Iguodala to his Instagram story.
It doesn't sound as if Iguodala will show up to Memphis at all this season. The Athletic's David Aldridge reported on Monday that Iguodala will not report to Memphis if he isn't traded by Thursday's trade deadline.
According to reports, the Grizzlies have believed all season that they can find a trade for Iguodala, with the hope of getting assets back instead of buying him out. If he isn't traded by Thursday, however, the Grizzlies will be tested as to whether they want to continue to eat Iguodala's salary to keep him from going to a contender, or if they ultimately decide to cut ties.