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GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS MEDIA CONFERENCE

September 26, 2016

Andre Iguodala

Oakland, California

Q. A lot has been talked about the team being known as The Death Squad, what do you think about that name?
ANDRE IGUODALA: It remains to be seen. It would be a little different as far as defensively how we communicate. It's going to be a fun process. That's what I'm looking forward to the most. The finished product is always cool, but the process of getting there is actually the fun part. I'm looking forward to that the next couple of weeks.

Q. Why do you think you guys weren't able to close the deal last season, what do you need to improve to get it done this season?
ANDRE IGUODALA: I think Cleveland did what they needed to do to win the series. So it's not necessarily what we didn't do to win. But you've got to give credit to the team that got it done of the I give them a lot of credit. There were some holes and some weaknesses that we had. And we got a monster that filled them all. We got a monster on our team right now. It will be really fun to see him play. We won't have too many weaknesses with a guy like that.

Q. Were you surprised at all by the back lash Kevin got for the move that he made? Or did you expect this?
ANDRE IGUODALA: Not surprised at all. Timing was interesting, especially with the collective bargaining coming up. And he had similar back lash when LeBron made the decision. And when the bargaining came up, my team is not doing as well as another team either financially or on the court, because of the structure CBA, so that's calmed a little bit.

From a fan standpoint, the game is changed the way it's viewed from a media I can't standpoint with so many opinions. You've got so many people that feel like they have an opinion, not the actual media, but the fans, and also some media now. It's easier to voice that. So you have back lash, regardless. If he stays at OKC and doesn't win a Championship he's a bad guy. If he comes here and wins a Championship, he's a bad guy. At the end of the day you have to do what's best for you, and enjoy the game of basketball. I've never seen a guy enjoy the game as much as Kevin with such a high amount of talent, which is crazy to see.

Q. Presuming that you guys don't start 24-0 and there's a couple of bumpy stretches early on, and we all start looking for things to write about and start wondering about chemistry. Give us your preemptive strike about how we take the long view. What's the long goal and knowing that this season is not going to?
ANDRE IGUODALA: Winning a Championship is the goal of everybody, understanding that it's supposed to be hard. If it's not hard, it doesn't quite feel -- it doesn't feel as satisfying, you know. It's like, oh, whatever. It's like -- but when you work for it and you go through it, it's like, wow, that hurt so good.

So that's kinds of the mindset that I always have, going into anything, and especially with the game of basketball. Any talk is good talk, especially for the business of basketball, not for the game, the actual game, but the business of basketball, good or bad talking is good. And we know we're going to get both. And we're all older, a lot of veteran guys. We've passed that stage of making mistakes because we were young. We're getting older, veteran years of our career, so we should be able to handle that.

Q. You take a lot of pride in analyzing individuals as well as the game, itself. Kevin has the reputation as a scorer. But when you see Kevin, what about the other parts of his game, the subtle things that you've seen over the years that tell you that he's a complete player?
ANDRE IGUODALA: I've seen him defend at a really, really high level. And he has all the intangibles and all the natural gifts that can't be taught to be a great defender. And I think that's why in the playoffs defensively they turned it up a notch and forced us to either play great or go home. So I see that in him.

And there was some talk about what we lose defensively, with Bogey, which is a lot. But we don't lose as much when he plays defense at a really high level. As well as handling the ball, he handles the ball like Steph does. Sometimes he doesn't even need to dribble. So he's going to be able to create for guys. And he does a lot with his penetration, and fundamentals, like passing, I mean Klay even said it in our meeting, I'm going to get a lot of over shots.

Q. You guys have the 3-1 deficit and then the 3-1 lead. So those two halves are ranges. It could have been -- you turned around and guys are so frustrated you didn't win it all. How can you explain those two dynamics?
ANDRE IGUODALA: It feels like you had four seasons last year, the regular season, the playoffs, you had the OKCC, and then the finals. So it was just a great way for the emotions. And if you do anything, about life, there's a great wave of emotions. The best way to handle them is to go do them and experience them and learn from them. And hopefully you do them again and you're better than before. That's our objective, try to get back to that place everyone wants to be. And being in that position and improve and change the outcome.

Q. Is sounds like you were pretty influenced on getting JaVale McGee here, can you tell us about his chances to making it on the roster?
ANDRE IGUODALA: I don't know how influential I was. But I gave him a lot of praise. Talking about how there's a different type of media surrounding basketball in this generation. And you can get a really good -- people can have a really good view of you or they can have negative views of you. He's 7 feet tall, 70 wing span, he can jump out of the gym. He can be a little awkward, I think he started playing basketball later, so he has his goofy moments. I think that gave him a label that's not positive. And it's funny because he has a very high IQ, and is a really good guy. I know he likes basketball, I know he works on his game. But I know how great he can be. So just a good guy. And when you are around good people like that, you want to see them success. And he has the work ethic. So he's going to be able to do some good things for us, I believe, and hopefully he shows that, and the coaches will see it.

Q. Three years ago you left a very successful situation to come and join the Warriors. What has surprised you most about that experience and what have you really taken away from that as you move forward?
ANDRE IGUODALA: The experience of just -- I think you try to see the future a little bit. I know it's hard to do. But you try to see how I fit into a situation. It's like picking a college, you know. What suits you best. The city life. On the court success. The family life. And I felt like a lot of positive things would come with selecting this market. And it has been more positives than anything, ten fold what I thought. There's been some great characters, great people. We have a great front office. Bob and I have a great relationship. Had a great relationship is, one of my great friends. And have a really good relationships with the staff we have now, with Steve. I'm learning a lot from him. Which is what helped me when I'm done playing basketball. And then off the court I'm sure you know what I've been trying to get into, and they've been really accepting of me. So there's been a lot of fun, and I'm looking forward to continuing and having more success.

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