Al Horford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Celtics, Nets, Hornets Considered Three-Way Trade

October 13th, 2019 at 9:00am CST by Arthur Hill

In the early hours of free agency, the Celtics discussed a three-way sign-and-trade that would have brought Kemba Walker to Boston while sending Kyrie Irving to the Nets and Terry Rozier to the Hornets, according to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald.

The Celtics were hoping to pull off the deal and still have enough resources left to keep Al Horford, but the trade got scrapped when Horford elected to accept a four-year, $109MM contract from the Sixers.

The proposed transaction wouldn’t have been as difficult to execute as some in the media have claimed, Bulpett adds. The Nets had the cap space to sign Irving outright and would have sought some compensation to participate, but all three teams had interest. Bulpett states that while the deal never got close to completion, Brooklyn officials were clear about what they wanted and their price could have been met.

In an interview this week, Horford suggested that he might have given stronger consideration to staying in Boston if he had known Walker was joining the team.

“I don’t want to get caught up in the past,” Horford said, “but, yeah, that would have been totally different.”

The Celtics were willing to give the 33-year-old a four-year-deal, according to Bulpett, but he landed in a good situation in Philadelphia, where he is surrounded by enough talent to compete for a title and won’t be asked to play center as often because of Joel Embiid.

Al Horford Discusses Decision To Leave Celtics For Sixers

October 10th, 2019 at 8:53am CST by Luke Adams

While it wasn’t quite as shocking as some of this summer’s blockbuster trades, Al Horford‘s move from Boston to Philadelphia raised some eyebrows around the NBA. After Horford turned down his 2019/20 player option with the Celtics, there was a sense that he’d still work something out to remain with the team. However, a lucrative four-year offer from the Sixers helped lure him to an Atlantic rival instead.

Speaking this week to Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald, Horford said that his decision to sign with the Sixers began to form once he and his teammates realized that Kyrie Irving would likely leave the Celtics in free agency as well.

“We all kind of felt that Kyrie was going to leave,” Horford said. “It was like, maybe he’ll stay, but then it was, nah, he’s probably going to leave just based on how everything was. And then I’m looking at my career and myself and the years that I have left. There were certain things that we wanted to accomplish as a team and things that we needed to make that happen. We got all those pieces last year, but it didn’t happen for us, and moving forward I didn’t know if it was going to be a two-year wait or whatever it was going to be.

“It was that and the financial reasons. When we started with the team trying to come up with things and we couldn’t agree on certain numbers, that’s when I decided, you know what, I’m going to have to open my free agency. I believe not only that I am worth a certain amount of money, but also I want to be in a position that I have a really good opportunity to win now. You know, my window is now. That’s how I feel.”

The four-year, $109MM contract Horford signed with the Sixers, which includes $97MM in fully guaranteed money, was worth more than the Celtics were willing to offer. According to Bulpett, the original belief was that the big man was heading toward a new three-year deal in Boston, but the C’s were outbid.

While Irving’s departure was one of the factors that contributed to Horford’s departure, the 33-year-old told Bulpett that even if Kyrie had stayed, he’s not sure “if it would have worked” in Boston.

“There would have had to be some major changes as far as players, because it was just clear that the group that we had just wasn’t going to be able to coexist,” Horford said.

Asked if he might have been more willing to stick with the Celtics if he’d known Kemba Walker was on his way, Horford said that he doesn’t want to get caught up in the past, but admitted that it “would have been totally different.”

Still, Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston is skeptical that a Walker/Horford pairing ever could have worked logistically, since the Celtics didn’t start seriously looking at Kemba as a viable possibility until they knew Horford had one foot out the door.

Structuring the acquisition of Walker as a sign-and-trade instead of an outright signing opened the door slightly to the possibility of bringing back Horford, but in order to make it work, the C’s would have needed to turn Irving’s deal with Brooklyn into a sign-and-trade as well, which would’ve meant sending at least one extra asset – likely a first-round pick – to the Nets to incentivize them to play along. On top of all that, Horford still probably would’ve required a more lucrative offer than Boston was willing to put on the table, since a $109MM deal may not have been realistic for the hard-capped Celtics.

For his part, Horford said he would understand if there are Celtics fans upset at him for signing with the rival Sixers.

“I won’t hold it against anybody if they feel negatively toward me for leaving,” Horford told Bulpett. “… I felt like I really gave everything I had. I gave everything I had — on the floor, trying to be the best leader that I could, trying to help the guys as much as I could, putting in the extra work. So no regrets, but disappointment. I understand if people are disappointed. I’m disappointed, too. We didn’t win a championship; we didn’t get to that stage.”

Sixers Notes: Horford, Simmons, Korkmaz, Scott

October 1st, 2019 at 10:07am CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford decided to leave a contending team in Boston because he saw a better opportunity for a championship with the Sixers, writes Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Philadelphia enters camp among the favorites to win the NBA title, and Horford will serve as a veteran presence in an impressive starting lineup that also features Joel Embiid, Ben Simmons, Tobias Harris and Josh Richardson.

“The opportunity to win, I am going in my 13th season, that is important to me,” Horford said. “I feel we have an opportunity to win now and that was something that was hard for me to pass.”

Horford seemed like part of the foundation in Boston, but he surprised the Celtics by opting out of the final year of his contract and agreeing to a four-year, $109MM agreement with a bitter rival. He said the experience of leaving Atlanta for Boston three years ago helped him prepare for the adjustment of changing teams.

“I have done this before, so for me it is a little easier, the transition,” Horford said. “Another side of it can be overwhelming with all that comes with being on a new team and building relationships and getting to learn the city and all these things.”

There’s more from Philadelphia:

With a new five-year extension in hand, Simmons is ready for a fresh start to his NBA career, which includes ignoring critics who harp on his jump shot or anything else, relays Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Simmons spent the last few months trying to fix his errant jumper and said he fell in love with the game again during the offseason. “I think I was too worried about what people were saying, what was going around, too many outside noises,” he said. “I was able to really block them out this summer and not really focus on what people were saying.”
Furkan Korkmaz will have to improve his 3-point shooting to have a consistent role this season, observes Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Korkmaz requested a trade last season and has complained about his lack of playing time. Bodner notes that Philadelphia added depth at the wing position, so Korkmaz may see even fewer minutes this year.
Mike Scott admits to poor judgment when he fought with Eagles fans after showing up to the team’s opening game in a Redskins jersey, relays ESPN.

Atlantic Notes: Stevens, Feaster, Donaldson, Ainge

September 8th, 2019 at 3:59pm CST by clarkcrum

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens will have a new-look roster to work with this season, writes Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe, and while replacing All-Star point guard Kyrie Irving with fellow All-Star Kemba Walker will be the easy part, replacing defensive stalwarts Al Horford and Aron Baynes should prove a bit more challenging.

Another question is who starts — Gordon Hayward or Jaylen Brown? Do both of them start, with Marcus Smart back on the bench? According to Stevens, it really doesn’t matter, as long as the lineups mesh together.

“We’re obviously going to have to figure out lineups that work best together,” Stevens said. “Everybody is going to make a big deal over who starts, but we all know who the five guys are that are going to play the very most on our team, and everybody can probably write that down right now, and then it’s a matter of who fits best. They’re not all in the same position, but we’ve got to figure out who’s going to play the big spot and with which groups.”

Enes Kanter figures to get most minutes at center starting out, but young big Robert Williams could push for more playing time as the season progresses. The Celtics will also rely on Daniel Theis and Vincent Poirier for frontcourt depth.

There’s more from the Atlantic Division:

According to A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston, the Celtics have hired Allison Feaster as director of player development. Feaster is a former WNBA player and Harvard graduate who also worked in the G League.
Raptors data analyst Brittni Donaldson has been promoted to an assistant coach on the staff of head coach Nick Nurse, per a tweet from Stadium (Twitter link).
In a piece for NBC Sports Boston, Blakely writes that Danny Ainge is concerned with Stevens happiness this season, saying “My biggest concern through all of this was, I want my coach to be happy who he’s coaching and that’s the hardest job. I’ve been at this business a long time. It’s…you gotta have fun. You really have to have joy. That doesn’t mean every minute is going to be happy. Everybody is going to face adversity and challenges and trials through the course of a season. But, it still has to be fun.”

Atlantic Notes: Sixers, Burke, O’Quinn, Smart, Fizdale

July 31st, 2019 at 6:01pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Despite the loss of J.J. Redick, the Sixers have plenty of perimeter shooters on their current roster, as Derek Bodner of The Athletic details. Tobias Harris, Josh Richardson, Mike Scott, Al Horford, James Ennis, Trey Burke and Raul Neto loom as long-range threats but mainly in catch-and-shoot situations. That means Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons need to create and open up space for their perimeter players.

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

Point guards Trey Burke and Raul Neto could be useful members of the Sixers’ rotation but big man Kyle O’Quinn will have regain the form he showed earlier in his career with the Knicks to make a meaningful contribution, Mike O’Connor of The Athletic writes. O’Connor breaks down the strengths and weaknesses of the incoming reserve trio and how they’ll fit in.
Marcus Smart admits the Celtics were a dysfunctional team last season, he said on ESPN’s The Jump this week. Many players were uncomfortable with their roles, according to Smart. “It’s hard for anybody to have to look themselves in mirror and sacrifice something,” Smart said.
The fact that the Knicks didn’t re-sign any of their nine free agents reflects poorly on coach David Fizdale, the New York Post’s Marc Berman opines. The teams sold player development over the team’s win-loss record last season, yet didn’t consider any of those players worthy of another contract, Berman notes.

Atlantic Notes: Horford, Lowry, Raptors, Portis, Knicks

July 22nd, 2019 at 9:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Sixers power forward Al Horford shot down an ESPN report that his new team was guilty of tampering prior to free agency. He addressed the issue on the Dan Patrick Show (hat tip to NBC Sports Boston’s Chris Forsberg). Horford declined his team option with the Celtics and signed a four-year, $109MM contract with Philadelphia. “It’s ridiculous. … (Celtics GM) Danny [Ainge] was really good to me. I know he’s definitely frustrated that things didn’t work out with us,” Horford said.

We have more from around the Atlantic Division:

Heading into unrestricted free agency next summer, Raptors point guard Kyle Lowry has hired Priority Sports — headed by longtime agent Mark Bartelstein — to represent him, according to a Priority Sports tweet. Lowry signed a three-year deal worth up to $100MM in 2017. His previous reps were Gerard Darnes Soms, Andrew Miller and Juan Aisa, according to Spotrac.
The Raptors used their $3.623MM bi-annual exception to sign forward Stanley Johnson, according to Blake Murphy of The Athletic. The $9.26MM mid-level was split up among Patrick McCaw, Matt Thomas, second-round pick Dewan Hernandez and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who received $2.5MM rather than the veteran’s minimum. McCaw signed a two-year, $8MM deal while Thomas and Hernandez received partially-guaranteed three-year contracts.
Power forward Bobby Portis believes the players the Knicks brought in are a hungry group ready to overachieve, as he told Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype. Portis joined the team on a two-year, $31MM deal, though only the first year is guaranteed. “I love being underrated, man. I’m an underdog,” he said. “I say that every day. We’re the team that’s being counted out right now. People are looking past us. They’re talking about stars going to new teams and this and that, and that’s okay. Everybody on this team has a huge chip on their shoulder.”
After striking out on the big free agents this summer, the Knicks will have to exercise patience and come up with a better plan to lure top talent, Steve Popper of Newsday opines.

Celtics Notes: Horford, Green, Roster, Walker

July 19th, 2019 at 8:33pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Celtics feel there was tampering involved in the departure of Al Horford to rival Philadelphia, according to Brian Windhorst. The ESPN analyst said as much on a Hoop Collective Podcast (hat tip to NBC Sports Boston’s Justin Leger).

“What happened with Horford, again from what I’m told, really upset the Celtics,” Windhorst said. “They were thinking they were going to be able to negotiate with him, talk to him about a new contract, and all of a sudden it was like he already knew what his market was and he was out of there.”

The Sixers inked Horford to a four-year deal that can be worth up to $109MM.

We have more on the Celtics:

Swingman Javonte Green is expected to sign a two-year deal with the Celtics, with a partial guarantee in the first year and a non-guaranteed second year, Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe tweets. The news that Green was signing with Boston surfaced on Thursday. Green, who has played overseas since going undrafted in 2015, averaged 10.8 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.8 SPG in 22.6 MPG over five Summer League games at Las Vegas this month.
The Celtics will have an open competition for the final roster spot, Himmelsbach reveals in the same tweet. Players with partial guarantees and their two-way contract players will try to earn that spot. Guards Max Strus and reportedly Tremont Waters are their two-way players.
Kemba Walker received the max allowed for a free agent from an opposing team but the opportunity to join a contender seeking a point guard tipped the scales to Boston, Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer relays. “It really came down to my happiness and how I want to compete night-in and night-out,” Walker said. “It’s a winning organization, and I want to win. That’s what it’s all about. Throughout my basketball career as a pro, I haven’t won consistently, and I want to get a taste of that.”

Sixers Notes: Simmons, Butler, Harris, Horford

July 13th, 2019 at 7:58pm CST by Arthur Hill

Don’t expect to see Ben Simmons at the FIBA World Cup, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Simmons’ agent, Rich Paul, tells Woj that Simmons is “doubtful” to suit up for Australia, preferring to spend the summer concentrating on the upcoming NBA season.

Simmons, who was born in Melbourne, also pulled out of the 2016 Olympics so he could prepare for his rookie year. He began representing his home nation in international tournaments in 2012 when he was 15, but was cut from Australia’s World Cup team two years later. One of the NBA’s top young stars, Simmons is currently mulling over a five-year, $170MM extension offer from the Sixers.

There’s more today out of Philadelphia:

Even though Jimmy Butler‘s stay with the Sixers was short, GM Elton Brand doesn’t regret the trade that brought him from Minnesota, relays Tim Bontemps of ESPN. Philly sent Robert Covington, Dario Saric, Jerryd Bayless and a second-round pick in 2022 to get Butler for what turned out to be 55 games. “When we went into it last year, it was hopefully Jimmy found a great fit and hopefully we did also,” Brand said. “I’d make that trade again. He gave us a great playoff run last year.”
After re-signing for $180MM over the next five years, Tobias Harris has become much more important to the Sixers’ future, Bontemps observes in the same story. Harris often found himself as the fourth or fifth option on offense after being acquired from the Clippers in a mid-season trade, but with Butler and J.J. Redick both gone, the team will rely on Harris to provide more scoring. “I can come into next year with that kind of energy, that kind of fire to improve my game and show different parts of my game, too,” Harris said. “Obviously I’ll have the ball in my hands in more different situations and I’m ready for that. I’ve been working out all summer to get ready for that.”
Former Celtic Al Horford didn’t expect the Sixers to be among his suitors in free agency, writes Darren Hartwell of NBC Sports Boston. He said negotiations with Philadelphia “escalated very, very quickly” once teams were officially allowed to talk to players. “When Elton called and spoke with my agent, he laid down this offer,” Horford recalled. “I was very surprised there was that strong interest for me being here. It made the decision very easy. I’m just excited to be a part of this.”

Contract Details: Porzingis, Kleber, Horford, Smailagic, More

July 12th, 2019 at 2:59pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to having no injury protection, Kristaps Porzingis‘ five-year max contract with the Mavericks also features a fifth-year player option, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Elsewhere on the Mavericks’ front, Maxi Kleber‘s new four-year deal with the team has a total base value of $34MM, but only $25MM of that money is guaranteed, according to Jeff Siegel of Early Bird Rights, who tweets that the fourth year ($9MM) is fully non-guaranteed. The pact also features $475K annually in bonuses, Siegel notes.

Finally, Siegel reports (via Twitter) that Delon Wright‘s three-year contract with the Mavericks has a descending structure, starting at $9.47MM in year one before going down to $8.53MM by year three. The agreement includes a total of $3.15MM in unlikely bonuses in addition to its $27MM base value, per Siegel.

Here are a few more details on recently-signed NBA contracts:

Siegel and ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter links) provide the interesting details on the fourth year of Al Horford‘s contract with the Sixers. Currently, Horford’s $26.5MM salary for that season is only partially guaranteed for $14.5MM. However, that guarantee jumps to $19.5MM if Philadelphia makes the NBA Finals in 2020, 2021, or 2022. It would become fully guaranteed if the 76ers win a title in one of those seasons.
Alen Smailagic‘s rookie contract from the Warriors is a four-year, minimum-salary pact with the first two years guaranteed, reports Michael Scotto of The Athletic (via Twitter). Despite being over the tax line, Golden State technically has access to the full mid-level exception, which allowed the club to go up to four years for the No. 39 overall pick.
Ivica Zubac‘s four-year deal with the Clippers includes a team option in the final season, tweets Keith Smith of RealGM. As Siegel details (via Twitter), it has a total value of about $28.52MM.
According to Smith (Twitter link), the Bulls‘ three-year contract for Ryan Arcidiacono also has a team option for its final season.

Sixers Sign Al Horford To Four-Year Deal

July 10th, 2019 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

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.