The Golden State Warriors dealt Andre Iguodala to the Memphis Grizzlies on Sunday, but they plan to retire his number nine jersey.

Iguodala was integral to the Warriors winning their first NBA championship in 40 years in 2015 and was named the NBA Finals MVP.

He was due to earn $17million next season and his departure is understood to be down to Golden State needing to generate cap space after reportedly signing D'Angelo Russell to a four-year, $117m max contract.

Despite trading Iguodala for Julian Washburn and a future first-round draft pick, the Warriors will honour his impact on the franchise by retiring his number.

"As we look back six years [after signing Iguodala], we actually underestimated what his value would be to our team, both on the court and in the locker room," Warriors co-chairman and CEO Joe Lacob said in a statement.

"In what has been well documented, Andre sacrificed for the betterment of our team and, in one of the best stories of this journey, earned NBA Finals MVP honours in 2015.

"He has been absolutely vital to our success during five consecutive appearances in the NBA Finals and three championships. We thank Andre for all of his contributions and look forward to seeing his number in the rafters at Chase Center." 

Iguodala averaged 7.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.1 steals in 413 regular-season appearances for the Warriors.