Andre Iguodala desperate for a final championship ring, targets the Lakers: reports

The veteran NBA star wants to close out his career with a fourth NBA championship ring.

Rumors surrounding Andre Iguodala have been buzzing around since the off-season. As early as July, he has been linked to a possible move to the Los Angeles Lakers in a trade deal for JR Smith.

Now that the season has started, Iguodala is still with the Memphis Grizzlies. The former Finals MVP has three rings on his fingers. At 35, is looking to get one more championship ring before he retires. He knows that this is most likely his last contract and his last chance for another championship. With the spur of young stars coming from overseas and the NCAA, he isn't likely to get another chance.

According to CBS Sports, Iguodala was allowed to skip training camp with the Grizzlies as they rebuild their team. The Grizzlies are using Iguodala and his achievements as a trump card to acquire a young up-and-coming player to stay with them on a longer-term as they build a competitive team.

The Grizzlies are not going to let him go without getting something out of it. There are talks with both the Lakers and Clippers camps, but it seems like they've fallen through. There's a lot of speculation that he would end up with either Los Angeles team, but now that the regular season has begun, he is still with the Grizzlies.

Iguodala himself made it clear that he doesn't want to play for the Grizzlies. Having played for the Golden State Warriors for the last six years, he doesn't want to go play for a team with only a small chance of winning the championship. To be fair to the SF/SG swinger, a lot of big-name NBA players such as Gary Payton, Karl Malone, and Jason Kidd sacrificed their salary to play for teams with a chance of getting a ring. Payton got one in 2006 with Miami, after spending most of his career with Seattle. Kidd got one playing for Dallas in 2011.

The difference is, Iguodala already has three rings. The Grizzlies, who never won a championship since its foundation in 1995, is not likely to win one this year with or without him. Hopefully, someone comes forward to give both Iguodala and the Grizzlies what they want before the trade deadline.