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Andre Iguodala jokingly requests trade, is cool with coming off the bench

Eric Freeman
OAKLAND, CA - MAY 13: Andre Iguodala #9 of the Golden State Warriors reacts after making a three-point shot against the Memphis Grizzlies during Game Five of the Western Conference Semifinals of the NBA Playoffs at ORACLE Arena on May 13, 2015 in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

Golden State Warriors wing Andre Iguodala won NBA Finals MVP last month in large part due to what he did in the starting lineup in Game 4 and beyond. Iguodala's defensive versatility and not entirely expected scoring punch helped the Warriors reverse whatever spell LeBron James and the undermanned Cleveland Cavaliers had cast. It took the bold benching of defensive ace Andrew Bogut to do it, but going small and staying small with Iguodala simply made for sense for the matchup.

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Yet successful teams often fall prey to what Pat Riley famously termed "the disease of more," and there's been no guarantee that Iguodala will accept a return to a reserve role after winning a major award and never having come off the bench in any game of his career prior to the 2014-15 season. Head coach Steve Kerr said Thursday that he plans to begin the Warriors' title defense with Bogut back in the starting lineup in place of Iguodala. How would the 31-year-old vet react to the news?

Controversy! Could there be trouble for the Warriors, a team that had virtually everything going right during the most accomplished season in franchise history?

Well, no, because a minute later Iguodala served up the punchline to his joke:

And then he started quoting the "Making the Band" sketch from "Chappelle's Show":

Draymond Green then responded by declaring himself every one of the top five forwards of all time.

In truth, Iguodala's comment was pretty hard to take seriously even before his near-immediate reversal. While he did not start at all before Game 4 vs. Cleveland, he averaged 26.9 minutes per game in the regular season (fifth on the team and only 5.8 behind team leader Stephen Curry) and usually found himself on the floor in crunch time. It would be easy to cast Iguodala's preseason move to the bench as a demotion, but it was more a matter of logistics than anything else. He had one of the most important roles on the most loaded roster in the league.

In other words, Iguodala would have needed to keep the joke up for at least a few more minutes. Five probably would've done the trick.

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Eric Freeman is a writer for Ball Don't Lie on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at efreeman_ysports@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!