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OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Golden State Warriors are a team that the most sought-after free agents have avoided for most of the last two decades, nothing more than loveable losers with a faithful following and an ambiguous name on the NBA map. Maybe no more. Owner Joe Lacob, general manager Bob Myers, assistant GM Kirk Lacob and coach Mark Jackson already had started the process of turning around the futile franchise with last seasons playoff run. The foursome saw the latest evolution when they met with free agent Andre Iguodala and his agent, Rob Pelinka, in his Los Angeles office on July 1 -- the first day of free agency. "Before we could say too much, he was telling us how much he admired our team, he admired our coach and our players," Myers said. "We said, Do we have to sell you on anything?" He said, Look, I feel like this is the place I want to play. That moment was a transformative moment for our franchise." That new perception is finally reality. The Warriors introduced Iguodala at the teams downtown Oakland headquarters Thursday, nearly a week after he agreed to a four-year, $48 million deal despite more lucrative offers. Golden State believes Iguodalas arrival puts the franchise on new footing, going from a stopping point for middling free agents to a desirable destination among the NBAs most prized players. Iguodala said he wanted to come to the Bay Area because he can connect with the franchises vision. He got a glimpse of that last season when the Warriors knocked out his Denver team in the first round of the playoffs. The experience left Iguodala wanting to play with "smart big men" such as Andrew Bogut and David Lee, promising rookie Harrison Barnes and sharpshooters Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry, whom he jokingly said is "like the second coming of Jesus Christ. Hes like the most loved man on earth right now." "I think they were missing one piece," Iguodala said. "And hopefully I can be that piece to get that team to where we all want to be, which is to try and win a championship." Just the process of bringing Iguodala to Golden State showed the commitment from both sides. The Warriors entered free agency with little wiggle room. Keeping their own free agents -- Jarrett Jack and Carl Landry, who inked deals with Cleveland and Sacramento, respectively -- seemed improbable. Signing top-tier talent? Almost laughable. Pelinka, who worked alongside Myers for years as an agent, approached the Warriors about Iguodala. At first, Myers never thought the Warriors could make a deal happen. "He was looking at a team that was financially strapped with arguably no way to get him and saying, Id like to come play for you," Myers said. "And that motivated us as an organization." After days of back-and-fourth phone calls, text messages and meetings, doubt started to creep in for both sides. Iguodala also had other offers to consider, and some started to evaporate. The Sacramento Kings pulled a four-year, $52 million deal off the table. Denver made him a frontloaded five-year, $60 million offer, and the Dallas Mavericks also got into the mix. Some of the delay was, in part, because a few teams were waiting on the most coveted free agent -- Dwight Howard -- to make a decision. Even Iguodala felt the frustration. "I actually texted Dwight, Yo, youre messing me up," he said. Myers, who said the team always wanted Iguodala and not Howard, spent more than 16 hours working the phones on July 4 only to come up empty on a trade partner needed to clear salary cap space. Finally on the morning of July 5, Myers found a solution about an hour before Iguodala had to make a decision to go elsewhere for fear of losing another guaranteed offer. Myers struck a deal to clear $24 million in salaries by sending Richard Jefferson, Andris Biedrins and Brandon Rush to the Utah Jazz along with four draft picks, which eventually became part of a three-team, sign-and-trade deal with Denver. "This was a lesson in perseverance," said Myers, sporting a new beard because he had no time to shave. How Iguodalas addition impacts the Warriors wont be known until real games are played. Iguodala, who helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics, spent his first eight years in the NBA with the Philadelphia 76ers before spending last season with Denver. He has averaged 15.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.9 assists in his career and is almost certain to start at small forward. All five starters -- Curry, Thompson, Barnes, Lee and Bogut -- will be back, meaning Barnes or Thompson will likely be coming off the bench. Myers referred to the roster as having "six starters" and said hes eager to see how Jackson blends them all together. For his part, Iguodala said playing time will not be a problem. He already calls many of the Warriors friends and said the teams strong chemistry is what made it so attractive. "I think we have high-IQ basketball players who all can have a huge impact on any team in the league," Iguodala said. "Any five of those guys can be the man on the team or any team in the league."Swell Bottle Uk Sale . Kozun faked to the forehand and beat Monsters starter, Calvin Pickard, pad side in the second round for the winner. Spencer Abbott also scored in the shootout for the Marlies (25-13-4). Swell Bottles Uk Sale . Now that hes hitting streaking teammates with pin-point passes for easy layups, Love is asserting himself as one of the true superstars in the league. http://www.swellbottleuk.com/ . LOUIS -- Alexander Steen scored a power-play goal with 59. Marble Water Bottle Cheap . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Swell Bottle Sale 17 Oz . Aduriz headed home Markel Susaetas cross in the sixth minute to open the scoring at San Mames Stadium. He bettered that with a long-range blast that went in off the goal frame in the 18th, and converted a penalty in the 72nd after Diego Mainz was sent off for fouling Aduriz with only the goalkeeper to beat.COCHABAMBA, Bolivia -- The head of the charter airline whose plane crashed in the Andes last week was detained by Bolivian prosecutors for questioning Tuesday as authorities look into whether the tragedy that killed 71 people stemmed from negligence.Gustavo Vargas, a retired Bolivian air force general, was picked up in Santa Cruz along with a mechanic and secretary who worked for him at LaMia airline. All are being questioned about their roles in letting a British-built short-range jet attempt a more than four-hour flight from Santa Cruz to Medellin, Colombia, for which it barely had enough fuel in violation of aviation norms.Prosecutors said the interrogation was expected to last eight hours and afterward they would decide whether any of the three would be formally arrested. Earlier, authorities raided the airlines offices as well as those of the agency that oversees air traffic in Bolivia.Authorities are also looking into whether LaMia, which received permission to fly only earlier this year, was favored by Vargas son, who headed the office responsible for licensing aircraft in Bolivias civil aviation agency. After the crash, LaMia had its license revoked and several aviation officials, including Vargas son, were suspended.The plane was carrying a Brazilian soccer team to the opening match in the Copa Sudamericana tournaments finals when it crashed outside Medellin on Nov. 28.Prosecutors from Brazil, Bolivia and Colombia are expected to meet Wednesday in Santa Cruz to combine efforts in determining the causes of the crash. They also are studying how the airline, which despite a dodgy history amassed an impressive list of clients from among South Americas top soccer clubs, was ever allowed to operate.One of the six survivors of the crash said Tuesday that he had been reassured by the airline before takeoff that the plane would make a refueling stop in the Bolivian town of Cobija, as it had on previous flighhts north.ddddddddddddI dont know if it was a fuel problem -- the investigation will determine that, Erwin Tumiri told The Associated Press during an interview from his modest home in Cochabamba, where he is recovering from the crash. But every time we flew we went first to Cobija and returned the same way to refuel. On this occasion they said wed do the same.Meanwhile, an employee in Bolivias aviation agency turned up Tuesday in Brazil seeking asylum.In a document widely circulating in Bolivian media, the worker, Celia Castedo, appears to have pointed out a number of irregularities in the aircrafts flight plan, including not having enough fuel, to LaMias dispatcher, who was killed in the crash. The authenticity of the document couldnt be immediately verified.Brazilian federal police said Castedo applied for refugee status upon crossing the border by land.In Bolivia, a top government official said Castedo, who was among officials suspended following the crash, was potentially evading justice and should be immediately deported.What she has done is very serious, Government minister Carlos Romero told reporters, denying that Castedo faced any persecution in Bolivia. Its a way of escaping the judicial system.Messages sent to various social media accounts apparently belonging to Castedo were not immediately returned. Reached by the AP via Facebook, Castedos son, Sebastian Castedo, said that the truth would come later by authorities other than those in Bolivia. He said he did not know his mothers whereabouts.---Associated Press writer Carlos Valdez reported this story in Cochabamba and AP writer Mauricio Savarese reported from Rio de Janeiro. AP writers Paola Flores in La Paz, Bolivia; Peter Prengaman in Rio de Janeiro; and Joshua Goodman in Bogota, Colombia, contributed to this report. ' ' '