It appears that Andre Iguodala plans on returning to the Golden State Warriors next season.
The Warriors forward shot down speculation on Sunday suggesting the core members of the team might break up this offseason.
According to him, he is "sure" he will still be in the picture come 2019-20, with the Warriors looking to turn around a 3-1 deficit against the Toronto Raptors in the NBA Finals.
"No, I don't think we look at it that way at all," Iguodala told reporters following practice.
"Especially for myself I've been, a lot of people have spoken to me each and every day, especially with kind of our – the folks that cover us, and I'll be here next year for sure, and I'm pretty confident that we'll have our core back and we'll try to make another run at it.
"But our key right now is to focus in on tomorrow's game and things we can do to try to keep the season going."
The 15-year pro said his "career is almost over" earlier this postseason and followed up by saying he has a "good idea" about how much longer he will play. He has ruled out three or four more seasons for now, but next year seems like a lock.
The wing is averaging 9.4 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists in the 2019 playoffs and is set to become an unrestricted free agent in 2020.
For now, he is focused on the task at hand, as the Warriors are down 3-1 to the Raptors in the NBA Finals and will play in Game 5 at Scotiabank Arena on Monday.
According to Iguodala, the two-time defending champions will not dwell on their 2016 NBA Finals loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers entering the matchup.
"Our group, we don't think about that too much. We try to use that experience and say we have been through it, but we don't need that as motivation," Iguodala said.
"Just being in NBA Finals is enough motivation and believing in ourselves and understanding, cleaning up the mistakes we made and a few other key adjustments. And we got a group that's locked in.
"But we believe we can get the job done come tomorrow. We're not looking to any other game or not looking at Game 6 or Game 7, we're looking at Game 5 and what we can do to win."
