"He's very much so deserving of it, and it's the …

Years after competing fiercely with James on the Finals stage, Iguodala also offered praise for how James is handling his free agency, heading into what will be a record-breaking 24th season. "He's very much so deserving of it, and it's the opportunity or even the thought of it. You can just feel the excitement from the fans," Iguodala said of James' free agency frenzy.

"One thing I've learned in this tenure and working with the league and [commissioner] Adam [Silver], it's we got to do a better job of driving the positive narratives and the positive narrative is that he's [still] playing. Considering every time he wakes up, he's pissing somebody off because he'll drink red Gatorade as opposed to blue. I think it's just a great moment for the game.

"It's just showing our appeal globally when the athlete of our generation, the best player of our generation, is still commanding this level of attention and respect and curiosity. All of those things go into that. And so, the opportunity could be amazing.

We all tune in, regardless if we like it or not."ESPNThis article originally appeared on Hoops Hype: "He's very much so deserving of it, and it's the …