On Friday Andre Iguodala shocked the basketball world by signing with the Golden State Warriors on a 4 year 48 million dollar deal. While the Warriors were unable to land Dwight Howard after this deal, the addition of Iguodala has firmly cemented them among the top teams of the Western Conference. Let me break things down for you.

Iguodala is a potential perfect fit for the Warriors, as they have lacked a dominant wing defender to cover the Kevin Durants, James Hardens and so on, of the world. While I do not love giving a specialist player who is almost 30 a large deal like this, the Warriors had to make a splash and this was probably the best move they could’ve made. My guess is Iguodala will slide into the small forward spot that Harrison Barnes occupied last year, bumping the sophomore Barnes to the 6th man spot something he will hopefully thrive in. Iguodala isn’t the most effective offensive player, but he should be able to mesh with young guards Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, feeding off of them. With Curry slashing, and drawing the attention of the defense, this should hopefully mean that Iguodala will have some great back cuts and easy baskets to get.

Looking at the bigger picture, this should give the upstart Warriors of last year’s playoffs, a huge boost, adding someone the caliber of Iguodala. The Warriors, while resilient, lacked some grit and toughness, and that’s exactly what Iguodala can bring. They should now have the confidence to believe they can hang with, and beat the Spurs, Thunder and newly formed Rockets. The West is full of talent and the best way to counter is to stick your foot in the door and load up as well. Joe Lacob and the rest of the new Warriors ownership have shown that they are willing to spend in order to win. There’s only so much that you can do with just drafting and trading. The Warriors have shored up a serious weakness and in turn catapulted themselves into contender talks. Which is all that Warriors fans can ask for. After years of hardship and torture, the Warriors franchise and fan base finally have something to be excited. Oh, and one more thing Warriors fans, he doesn’t like being called Iggy.