Lakers Rumors: Western Conference to keep Andre Iguodala from Lakers?

Multiple media outlets have Andre Iguodala as a foregone conclusion to choose the Lakers. Didn’t they say the same thing about Paul George?

There are so many rumors from numerous outlets that the Lakers and Andre Iguodala partnership can and most likely will happen. Until Memphis buys him out which will not happen until after the trade deadline, anything can happen, right? Remember the Paul George fiasco?

When Paul George started angling his way out of Indiana, it was a foregone conclusion where he was supposed to end up. An LA kid “allegedly” being a Lakers fan growing up, the media had the narrative sewn up. Here’s an example from Sam Amick of USA Today Sports.

"“Rival executives will argue that his value is depressed because of the alive-and-well rumor he is headed for the Lakers, knowing full well that the Thunder don’t want to lose a superstar for the second time in three summers after Kevin Durant. The lack of leverage, if nothing else,could compel the Thunder to see this through until the summertime.”"

An ESPN documentary, a guest spot on Jimmy Kimmel, what could go wrong?

The Thunder’s front office ignored the noise and made a deal. The Lakers believed the hype and let things slide and lost their chance at Paul George. Two years later, he finds his way out west where he wanted to be with the Clippers.

A few years later, here we go again.

The Athletic’s David Aldridge. 

"“The notion that Iggy to the Forum Blue and Gold seems to be so universally held a belief could certainly impact how hard other teams engage the Grizzlies in potential trade talks.”"

This is nowhere near a shot at these professional insiders here. Amick was right then and Shelburne along with Aldridge is right now at this point. What is being expressed here is there’s more to basketball than what happens on the basketball court. This situation has the eyes of other teams in the Western Conference.

Let’s take a look.