JULY 10: The Sixers have made it official, announcing the signing of Horford today in a press release.
“We’re excited to welcome one of the NBA’s best frontcourt players in Al Horford to Philadelphia,” GM Elton Brand said in a statement. “He has built his reputation around hard work and a tradition of winning, which are the same qualities that have formed the foundation of the 76ers. Al’s playmaking, elite defensive talents and veteran leadership confirm why he is a crucial addition to our roster. We have gained a championship-level teammate that will not only complement our current makeup, but will help grow our young core as we strive for the highest level of success.”
JUNE 30: The Sixers have revealed themselves as Al Horford‘s mystery suitor, having reached an agreement with the free agent big man on a four-year, $109MM deal, agent Jason Glushon tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Horford’s four-year pact will actually include $97MM in guaranteed money, with $12MM in bonuses linked to potential championships.
[UPDATE: New details on structure of Horford’s contract]
The Sixers’ deal with Horford is the latest big move in a day full of them for the team. J.J. Redick is headed to New Orleans, and Jimmy Butler is Miami-bound, but the 76ers agreed to re-sign Tobias Harris and will add Josh Richardson in the process of signing-and-trading Butler to the Heat. The club now projects to have a potential starting five made up of Harris, Richardson, Horford, Ben Simmons, and Joel Embiid.
Horford, 33, averaged 13.6 PPG, 6.7 RPG, and 4.2 APG on .535/.360/.821 shooting in 68 games (29.0 MPG) last season for the Celtics. However, his value extends beyond his numbers — he’s a strong defender who is capable of protecting the rim or switching onto perimeter players, and he keeps opposing defenses on their toes with his ability to pick and pop.
It will be interesting to see how Horford fits alongside Embiid in the Sixers’ frontcourt. While Horford is more of a center, he showed in Boston that he could play next to another center, as the C’s often used a Horford/Aron Baynes combination up front.
Horford had a player option for 2019/20 with the Celtics worth approximately $30MM, but decided to turn down that option in search of a longer-term deal. Rumors quickly began circulating about a four-year, $100MM+ deal for Horford, though it wasn’t clear which team was prepared to offer that sort of deal. The Mavericks, Kings, Pelicans, and Clippers were named as possible Horford suitors, but it was the Sixers that landed him.
According to Keith Smith of RealGM (via Twitter), Wojnarowski said during an appearance on ESPN that the Celtics – who managed to retain Horford’s Bird rights by agreeing to acquire Kemba Walker via sign-and-trade, were willing to go up to four years, but the gap in guaranteed money compared to Philadelphia’s offer was too significant.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Go Gators!
Replace Jimmy with horford not a bad deal. Horford knows his role and I think could fit better than Jimmy would.
Horford AND the poor man’s Jimmy Butler, Josh Richardson. They’re doing great today!
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Wasn’t it widely reported that the Sixers were interested? Not sure why they’re being called a “mystery suitor.”
Because there were reports since Horford declined his option that he had a four-year, $100MM+ offer waiting for him, but no one could pin down which team it was from.
Can’t rebound and past his prime = max. Congrats
Still can anchor a defense, decent shooter for a big and can act as a passing hub for nowhere a max.
I see the Sixers did not cry in their soup for too long over Butler
The Sixers basically just flipped Jimmy for Josh Richardson and Al Horford. WOO
They also lost Reddick. So no.
There are some cheap replacements out there to fill his void.
Redick isn’t that good. You keep thinking that’s a big loss. It’s not. His shooting isn’t worth the liability he was on defense. His shooting wasn’t even that great considering when we’re needed him to shoot, he wouldn’t or missed. He wasn’t clutch.
“Redding isn’t that good”….wow… Apparently the Sixers thought otherwise sense they wanted to keep him. The guy was your best outside shooter and hit a lot of big shots for them. More than Simmons did.
They wanted to keep him as a backup only. They didn’t rant him as a starter. That tells you how much they thought of him.
He also didn’t hit a lot of big shots for them. He rarely shot in clutch situations and missed a lot of them. You clearly didn’t watch the 76ers.
They were not bringing the best 3 pt shooter on the team to be a back up and I watched about 30 Sixers games last year. What’s their biggest need? Outside shooting. Kick rocks.
Exactly. Shows how much they didn’t care for him.
Their biggest need is actually defense.
You didn’t watch any games if you think he hit many big shots for them. Kick rocks.
He gets covered during big-shot time and others higher on the pecking order want those shots anyway. They like that he draws the coverage; he’s not on the bench. He shoots 41% from 3 so about those rocks. Kick them.
Do you understand you’re making excuses for why he doesn’t shoot (his only value) when we needed him to shoot most? Lmfao, and you think he’s that big of a loss too? Lmfao, dumb as the rocks your buddy is kicking. You would have been better off pretending that he’s a big shot maker like these other morons that say they watch the games. Go join your buddy in kicking rocks. He needs a friend.
You believe in rhetorical devices and a superman comparison but I prefer reality. He should not shoot if he’s covered and someone else is open especially if the coach backs the other. Philly was a mess internally last year.
I’m surprised they have the $ for this and harris
So they lost Butler and Redick and gained Horford and Richardson. Are they better or worse now?
You might say better. You get two guys who can score but aren’t like Jimmy who like the ball in their hands.
Reddick and Butler are way better scorers than Horford and Richardson. Not close in that area.
Im not talking better scorers. I’m talking better fits.
I don’t see it. Simmons and Richardson is a mediocre shooter, At this point in his career Horford basically just hangs out and takes jump shots. I get your point on “fit” but I don’t think these two guys move the needle. Of course, if Embiid stays healthy they’ll be very good regardless.
Considering how neither Simmons nor Embid can shoot from the outside proficiently I would say that it made sense for Butler and Reddick to have the ball in their hands. Simmons has shown he’s not even trying to shoot. Having shooters also spreads the floor and makes Embids job in the paint easier.
It’s hard to say. I think they’re changing their style to be more defensive minded. They’re better defensively while worse offensively. They drafted a very good defensive player. I will say they gained more defense than lost offense but it’s hard to say if they’re better. It’s a matter of fit now. Apparently the 76ers/Brand didn’t think Butler was a fit long term.
I personally don’t think I like the 76ers loses vs additions. But we will see. Maybe it’ll work out. They’ll still be good but hard to say they haven’t gotten worse.
How does he fit, PF? You can play him and Embiid together I think. You didn’t give him that money to play backup center
Great move given Embiids potential health concerns. Horford can play the four, or slide in at the 5 when Joel rests.
Average Al can do all the little things in Philly. And hopefully Boston will get someone to actually rebound.
Not a fan. Tobias Harris is a 4 as well as a 3, although a decent 3-baller. Still see that being a crowded halfcourt offense at times.
I was thinking the same. Also wonder about Tobias Harris ability to guard the 3 spot
“Redding isn’t that good”….wow… Apparently the Sixers thought otherwise sense they wanted to keep him. The guy was your best outside shooter and hit a lot of big shots for them. More than Simmons did.
He also often dissappeared when those outside shots were needed the most. There are plenty of catch and shoot 3 guys, they needed a team that fit together better. Butler was a bad fit, wanted a huge five year max (larger max than he is getting with Miami)
6ers story remains Simmons lack of shot and embiid health. If he goes down, horford will be brilliant move. They had to decide butler not worth max $.
Overpay
You’re gonna hate that 4th year of his contract. Possibly the 3rd too.
Solid guy, can shoot and defend.
Sub-standard rebounder and he’ll be 34 next season.
Short-term it’ll likely work; Philly better take advantage.
Don’t count too much on Horford in years three or four of that contract, but he should be okay next year. Excellent backup but not what he was coming out of Florida.
…you literally just explained the potential problem…but tried to say don’t worry about it…it’s three years away…Elton Brand what have you done son.