NBA Golden State Warriors

Golden State Warriors Bringing Andre Iguodala Off The Bench Would Be A Brilliant Move

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By @courtzierk

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Getty Images

If the Golden State Warriors had one weakness last season, it was the lack of legitimate bench support, especially at the guard position. Once Steph Curry and Klay Thompson exited the game, this offense looked lost and virtually dysfunctional.

The Warriors finished 24th in the league in bench scoring, with only 28 points per game coming from their reserves. This fact didn’t slip by management’s attention, and one of their priorities over the summer was addressing this, which they did by adding Shaun Livingston as a quality ball handler and more recently Leandro Barbosa as an additional scorer.

However, Livingston has since sustained an injury that will keep him out for a couple of weeks to start the season, and now Steve Kerr is considering bringing Andre Iguodala off of the bench as the primary ball handler. This may seem odd on its surface since Iguodala is a small forward by position, but it makes sense if you are familiar at all with his game. He was often charged with primary ball-handling duties last season so that Curry could work his defender off the ball, so it’s not something that would be that foreign to him.

While this makes sense to me as a short-term solution to a temporary problem, I also think it makes a lot of sense to bring Iggy off of the bench for the rest of the season, even upon Livingston’s return.

It solves a couple of glaring problems the Warriors have. One, it bolsters their second unit and gives them a leader on the floor, as well as someone who is adept on both ends of the court. A lineup of Livingston, Barbosa, Iguodala, Draymond Green and Festus Ezeli is definitely formidable and a definite upgrade over last season’s reserves. Two, assuming Harrison Barnes replaces Iggy in the starting lineup, it also potentially provides the spark that he may need in order to take the next step in his development.

It is no secret that the Warriors have high expectations for Barnes, which he has consistently come short of fulfilling to this point. This may be the change that he needs to develop into the player they thought he could be when they selected him with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2012 draft. Sometimes players are just better in a starting role than coming off of the bench, and I certainly think this could be the case for Barnes.

The bottom line is that keeping Iguodala in a reserve role could make this Warriors team even better than they were last season. This is a win-win move for everyone, and I think Kerr would be wise to consider making it a long-term solution.

Court Zierk is a Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on Twitter@CourtZierk, “Like”him on Facebook or add him onGoogle

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