Lowe - Inside the trade that brought Andrew Wiggins to Golden State and the shocking decisions it could force on the Warriors

THE SERIES OF deals that helped the Golden State Warriors prolong their run atop the NBA — a thread that goes back to Kevin Durant and spins forward indefinitely — began with what promised to be an uncomfortable exit interview.

Days after a crushing NBA Finals defeat that seemed to bury the Warriors dynasty under the weight of injuries, Bob Myers, the team's president of basketball operations, sat down with Andre Iguodala.

Myers looked at Iguodala and delivered a hard truth: «We might have to trade you,» Myers says.

As any diligent organization would, the Warriors after the 2019 Finals were bracing for Durant's potential departure in free agency — perhaps to the New York Knicks or Brooklyn Nets. In internal spitballing sessions, they batted out sign-and-trade options, hoping to convert Durant's roster spot — in the event he left — into a youngish veteran who might help them transition eras.

They prepared as quietly as they could. They wanted Durant to stay. The Knicks had nothing of interest. The plucky Nets, though, they had an outgoing free agent with some upside: D'Angelo Russell. If Durant left, maybe the Warriors could convince him — and the Nets, and Russell, and Russell's agents — to agree to a double sign-and-trade deal?

That would subject the Warriors to a hard cap, forcing them to dump a big contract: Iguodala's. In the exit interview, Myers braced for Iguodala's reaction.

«I remember him looking at me like, 'I understand,'» Myers recalls. «He wasn't like, 'Screw you.' He was as professional as you can get. He's so smart, he wasn't shocked by it.»

As ESPN's Ramona Shelburne reported, Myers met with Durant and Rich Kleiman, Durant's business partner, after Durant had made his decision in the early hours of free