Al Horford Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Marcus Smart To Return Wednesday For Celtics

February 15th, 2023 at 1:46pm CST by Luke Adams

Celtics guard Marcus Smart will return to action on Wednesday in the team’s final game before the All-Star break, as Jared Weiss of The Athletic relays (via Twitter).

Smart sprained his right ankle last month in a January 21 win over Toronto. Shortly after suffering the injury, he said he hoped to be back within a week or two, but he ended up being sidelined for about three-and-a-half weeks, missing 11 Celtics games during that time.

Boston’s roster has been a little banged up as of late, with Jaylen Brown out due to a facial fracture while Jayson Tatum (non-COVID illness) and Al Horford (right knee swelling) missed the first game of a back-to-back set on Tuesday in Milwaukee.

Brown will remain on the shelf until sometime after the All-Star break, but according to Weiss, Tatum and Horford will be available on Wednesday vs. Detroit.

Smart, the reigning defensive Player of the Year, is averaging 11.1 PPG, a career-high 7.2 APG, and 3.4 RPG on .422/.333/.767 shooting in 41 games (32.4 MPG) for the Celtics this season. He hasn’t come off the bench for the club in nearly two years, so he’s a safe bet to be reinserted into the starting lineup in his first game back.

Celtics Notes: Horford, Tatum, Williams

December 18th, 2022 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

Celtics center Al Horford has been fined $25K by the NBA for making “unnecessary and excessive” contact with Magic center Moritz Wagner, the league announced today in a press release (Twitter link). Horford threw an elbow to Wagner’s groin during the third quarter of Orlando’s upset win in Boston on Friday night, resulting in a Flagrant 2 foul and Horford’s ejection.

Besides costing him the rest of Friday’s game, the incident has now taken a small chunk out of Horford’s pay check. However, he won’t face a suspension as a result of the play, which can be viewed right here.

Here’s more on the Celtics:

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been ruled out for the Celtics’ rematch vs. Orlando on Sunday due to personal reasons, tweets Gary Washburn of The Boston Globe.
Prior to Robert Williams‘ season debut on Friday, his teammates spoke about how getting the big man back will benefit the club going forward, as Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston writes. “We got the No. 1 offense and we’re playing well on that end, obviously our defense has slacked a little bit, but we’re back up there, getting there,” Marcus Smart said. “With adding him, it’s only going to push us back over the top. We know the type of defender that Rob is, the type of player that Rob is, offensive player, the threat that he poses on defenses.”
Although the final score in Williams’ return wasn’t ideal, his reintegration into the rotation showed a path for the team to reach its full potential, Forsberg writes in another story for NBC Sports Boston. As Forsberg observes, besides helping improve Boston’s defense, Williams also gives the team its strongest finisher at the rim on offense — the Celtics ranked 29th in dunks entering Friday’s game, but Williams had four in 18 minutes in his first game back.

Robert Williams Expected To Make Season Debut On Friday

December 15th, 2022 at 4:20pm CST by Rory Maher

Celtics big man Robert Williams is targeting Friday’s home game against Orlando for his 2022/23 season debut, according to reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links).

The 25-year-old had arthroscopic surgery in late September to remove loose bodies from his left knee and to address swelling in that knee. The decision was made for Williams to undergo the procedure when he began his ramp-up process and experienced some discomfort in the knee.

Williams initially underwent surgery on the knee in March after tearing his meniscus.

He was able to return to the court less than a month later and played a part in the Celtics’ run to the NBA Finals, though he wasn’t at 100% in the postseason. The forward/center sat out five games in the second and third rounds of the playoffs and reportedly required extensive treatment as he dealt with fluid build-up.

Williams enjoyed a breakout season in ’21/22, establishing new career highs in PPG (10.0), RPG (9.6), BPG (2.2), games played and started (61), field goal percentage (73.6%), and several other categories. He also helped anchor the NBA’s top defense and was named to the All-Defensive Second Team.

Even without one of their best interior players, the Celtics haven’t missed a beat in ’22/23, sporting the league’s best record (22-7), best net rating (+7.0), and the top offensive rating (118.1). However, their defense has fallen from No. 1 to No. 8, and Williams should help improve that figure.

As Jared Weiss of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), Williams and fellow big man Al Horford are both officially listed as questionable for Friday’s contest. Horford and his wife recently had a baby, which is why he has been inactive since clearing the health and safety protocols — he has missed the past five games.

Eastern Notes: Horford, Young, Heat, Duarte, Brown

December 12th, 2022 at 10:52pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Celtics veteran big man Al Horford will rejoin the team on Friday, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets. Horford has been away from the C’s for personal reasons following a stint in the league’s health and safety protocols. Horford, who signed a two-year extension at the beginning of the month, hasn’t played since Dec. 4.

We have more from the Eastern Conference:

Hawks star guard Trae Young has been fined $25K for throwing the game ball into the spectator stands, Adam Zagoria of NJ.com tweets. The incident occurred at the end of the Hawks’ 123-122 overtime win over the Bulls on Sunday. Young was inactive against Memphis on Monday.
The struggles of Max Strus, Gabe Vincent and Duncan Robinson have taken some of the shine off the Heat’s vaunted development program but all is not lost, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel writes. Caleb Martin has developed from a two-way prospect to a steady rotation player and the development program has other potential success stories in Omer Yurtseven, Nikola Jovic and Jamal Cain.
Pacers wing Chris Duarte joined the G League’s Fort Wayne Mad Ants for practice on Monday and he’ll play for Fort Wayne against the Wisconsin Herd on Wednesday and Friday, Scott Agness of Fieldhouse Files tweets. Duarte is working his way back from a Grade 2 ankle sprain suffered in early November.
Pacers rookie forward Kendall Brown is out indefinitely with a stress reaction in his right tibia, according to Dustin Dopirak of the Indianapolis Star. Brown will be reevaluated by the team in two weeks. Brown, a second-round pick, is one of the team’s two-way players. He’s appeared in six games with the Pacers.

Health Updates: Lakers, Horford, Matthews, Payton

December 7th, 2022 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The Lakers will be shorthanded on Wednesday night in Toronto, according to Kyle Goon of the Southern California News Group, who tweets that star forwards Anthony Davis and LeBron James have both been ruled out by the team.

Davis is still battling the non-COVID illness that forced him to leave Tuesday’s contest in Cleveland early, while James is getting the second night of a back-to-back set off due to left ankle soreness. The Lakers have also listed guard Patrick Beverley as doubtful to play due to right knee soreness.

Here are a few more health-related updates from around the NBA:

Celtics big man Al Horford has been ruled out for Wednesday’s game vs. Phoenix after entering the NBA’s health and safety protocols, the team announced today (via Twitter). If Horford has tested positive for COVID-19, it will likely be at least a few days before he’s cleared to return, so his availability for the rest of Boston’s West Coast trip is up in the air.
Bucks wing Wesley Matthews has also been placed in the health and safety protocols and will be unavailable for Wednesday’s contest vs. Sacramento, tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Like Horford, Matthews could miss more games beyond tonight’s.
Trail Blazers guard Gary Payton II is inching closer to his season debut following offseason abdominal surgery. Teammate Damian Lillard told reporters on Wednesday that Payton practiced in full today, tweets Aaron Fentress of The Oregonian.

Celtics Notes: Horford, G. Williams, Smart, Udoka

December 3rd, 2022 at 6:28pm CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford gave the Celtics a “hometown discount” by signing a two-year extension this week valued at $20MM, an Eastern Conference executive tells Sean Deveney of Heavy. The executive believes Horford could have received more money if he had waited for free agency, but at age 36 he wasn’t interested in leaving Boston for a rebuilding team.

“The teams with money next year are mostly young teams,” the executive said. “So maybe Horford was looking at the landscape and saw who had cap space and wound up saying, ‘I do not want to go to Houston, man.’ It is a win for both sides, really, but if he wanted to chase money, he could have gotten more.”

Horford’s team-friendly deal puts the Celtics in a better position to re-sign Grant Williams, Deveney adds. Horford is making $26.5MM this season and Williams is at $4.3MM in the final year of his rookie contract. Boston wants to keep their combined salaries in the same range, so the team could theoretically offer Williams a new deal starting at about $20MM per season. However, sources have told Deveney that the Celtics might be reluctant to match an offer for the restricted free agent that’s in the $18-20MM range.

“I don’t know that they would go into $20MM a year for Grant Williams,” the executive added. “I don’t know that anyone else would, either. But they have some cushion. If it winds up being $15MM a year for Grant, they can match that and still be in a position where they’re not adding to that (tax) burden.”

There’s more from Boston:

Horford is the latest in a series of players that president of basketball operations Brad Stevens has signed to extensions before their contracts expired, notes Souichi Terada of MassLive. Stevens said Horford’s versatility and leadership have been instrumental as the Celtics have compiled the league’s best record. “Al is such an important part of our team,” Stevens said. “He’s a high-level player who enhances everyone around him on both ends of the court. His work ethic, commitment to his body and craft, and his unselfishness set a daily example on how to win big in the NBA.”
Marcus Smart is listed as questionable for Sunday with a left hip contusion, Terada adds in a separate story. Derrick White will likely replace Smart in the starting lineup if he has to miss the game, according to Terada, while Malcolm Brogdon and Payton Pritchard would see increased minutes.
Actress Nia Long has criticized the Celtics for the way they handled the suspension of coach Ime Udoka, her longtime partner, per Kevin Slane of The Boston Globe. In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Long said the team made details of the incident more public than they needed to be, which caused embarrassment for their 11-year-old son.

Celtics Notes: Horford, Trade Market, R. Williams

December 2nd, 2022 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Speaking to reporters on Friday for the first time since officially signing a two-year extension on Thursday, Celtics big man Al Horford expressed confidence in the team’s ability to contend for a title and explained that he valued the opportunity to gain some stability in Boston, as Tim Bontemps of ESPN writes.

“One of the things is, more than anything, you want to be in a place where you have a chance to contend, to win,” Horford said. “A place that’s, for me, more than basketball. Boston, I feel a real connection here with the people and with what the Celtics are all about, and it’s something that just really excited me. And the fact that I get that opportunity and (president of basketball operations) Brad (Stevens) believing in me and bringing me here, it’s something that’s special, and I’m really grateful for the opportunity.”

Horford would have become an unrestricted free agent in 2023 if he had played out the year without an extension in place. He said on Friday that he was happy he was able to work out an agreement with the Celtics so early in the season.

“There was really no urgency, per se,” Horford said, “but I wanted to make sure that this didn’t drag out until free agency and the summer and all those things and just once the time was right, to work this out and just focus on the season.”

Here’s more on Horford and the Celtics:

Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston makes the case for why Horford’s new deal is another win for Brad Stevens, while Jared Weiss of The Athletic shares some additional contract details. According to Weiss, Horford will make $10MM in 2023/24 and $9.5MM in 2024/25, with a trade kicker worth either 15% of his remaining salary or $500K (whichever is lesser). So the actual base value of the two-year deal is $19.5MM.
Multiple sources tell Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com that the Celtics aren’t very active in the trade market at the moment. Considering Boston has the NBA’s best offense, best net rating, and best record, it’s no surprise the team isn’t looking to shake things up.
One rival league executive who spoke to Bulpett likened the eventual return of Robert Williams to a “great in-season trade” for the Celtics. “We all know it, and we’re all dreading it,” the exec said. “They’re not playing the same defense without Williams there. They’ve been better than they were earlier, but they still go through stretches where you see the same commitment to that end of the floor isn’t there. It may take them a bit of time to get back into the flow when he returns… but he should solidify them and keep them out of some of those defensive lulls.”

Celtics Sign Al Horford To Two-Year Extension

December 1st, 2022 at 8:31am CST by Luke Adams

3:00pm: Horford’s two-year extension is now official, the Celtics announced in a press release.

“Al is such an important part of our team,” president of basketball operations Brad Stevens said in a statement. “He’s a high-level player who enhances everyone around him on both ends of the court. His work ethic, commitment to his body and craft, and his unselfishness set a daily example on how to win big in the NBA. His leadership has had a big impact on the coaches and players he’s competed alongside here in Boston, and we’re excited that he and his family are choosing to remain Celtics for years to come.”

8:31am: Horford’s two-year, $20MM extension will be fully guaranteed and will include a trade kicker, a source tells Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe (Twitter link).

8:02am: The Celtics and center Al Horford have agreed to a two-year contract extension worth $20MM, agent Jason Glushon tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The new deal will begin in 2023/24 and will keep Horford under team control until 2025.

Horford is currently earning $26.5MM in the final season season of the four-year, $109MM contract he signed with the Sixers in 2019, the last time he reached free agency. The veteran big man left Boston for Philadelphia that offseason despite a widespread expectation that he and the Celtics would work out a new deal.

This time around, he and the C’s have finalized an agreement well ahead of his free agency to avoid a repeat of that situation. Horford had stated last month that he wanted to play for two or three more seasons and finish his career in Boston.

Horford is 36 years old and his new contract will expire when he’s 39. However, he has remained extremely effective into his mid-30s and the Celtics’ commitment to him reflects a confidence that his solid play will continue for at least a couple more years.

In 18 games (all starts) this season, Horford has averaged 10.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 31.3 minutes per contest, with a shooting line of .555/.488/.625. As Wojnarowski observes within his report, the five-time All-Star is also highly respected within the locker room and in the wider Boston community.

Prior to this agreement, only $19.5MM of Horford’s $26.5MM salary for 2022/23 was guaranteed, but it was always a safe bet that he’d earn that full amount — this deal will formalize that, as Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets.

The extension signals that Boston is comfortable remaining a taxpayer beyond this season. Prior to signing Horford, the club had already committed $145MM+ in guaranteed money to eight players for 2023/24 (including Danilo Gallinari‘s player option). Barring cost-cutting moves, the Celtics’ team salary is now on track to comfortably surpass the projected $162MM luxury tax line for next season, especially if they re-sign Grant Williams.

As our tracker shows, Horford will become the 17th player to sign a veteran extension during the 2022/23 league year.

Celtics Notes: Horford, G. Williams, Brown, Mazzulla

November 19th, 2022 at 6:14pm CST by Arthur Hill

Al Horford has already left the Celtics once for more money and there’s a chance it might happen again next summer, writes Sean Deveney of Heavy. The 37-year-old Horford said this week that he’d like to play another two or three seasons, so he’ll be looking for a contract that covers that time. Whether that keeps him in Boston will depend on the salary he’s willing to accept.

Deveney talked to a Western Conference executive who points out that most of the teams that will have cap room in 2023 are young and aren’t likely to have interest in a player nearing 40. The unidentified executive expects Horford to land a two-year contract worth between $20-25MM, while another league source tells Deveney that Horford may get a three-year deal in the $40-42MM range with the final year as a partial guarantee or a player option.

An Eastern Conference executive believes the Celtics’ offer to Horford will depend on how much they have to pay to keep Grant Williams, who is headed for restricted free agency.

“Right now, you’re paying those guys $30MM,” the executive said. “They don’t want to add a bunch of salary, so if you can keep them below $30MM in starting money next year, it is not a bad situation. Other guys are going up, so you’d like to save where you can. If you start Williams at $16-17MM or so, you can go to $11-12MM for Al and still keep yourself around $180MM in payroll. They want both of those guys around so they have to think about them as a sliding scale.”

There’s more on the Celtics:

Boston has the league’s best record at 13-3 and has figured out how to win with limited production from Jayson Tatum, notes Souichi Terada of MassLive. The Celtics posted back-to-back wins over the Hawks and Pelicans this week with Tatum limited to 19 points in each game on subpar shooting. Derrick White and Payton Pritchard have filled in with Malcolm Brogdon and Marcus Smart hurt, and the team is also getting valuable bench minutes from Williams, Sam Hauser and Luke Kornet.
Jaylen Brown credits the success to trust from new head coach Joe Mazzulla, per Brian Robb of MassLive. Whenever the Celtics hit a rough patch, Mazzulla usually prefers to let the players work through it rather than calling a timeout. “It challenges us for not only the situation at hand in front of us but to be better down the line,” Brown said. “We’ve been in the NBA long enough to know how to get to our spots and how to correct some of our mistakes. We have a poised team so that’s a lot of trust from our head coach that he instills in our players and us to figure it out. To be honest, that’s what you want as a player. You want that relationship with your head coach that he’ll trust you out there that you’ll figure it out.”
With nine straight wins, the Celtics appear to have solved their crunch-time rotation questions, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic. Tatum’s ability to fill multiple roles makes the team hard to defend with the game on the line, Weiss adds.

Atlantic Notes: Banton, Raptors Bench, Horford, Brogdon

November 15th, 2022 at 8:56pm CST by Dana Gauruder

With several starters out of the Raptors lineup, Dalano Banton erupted for a career-high 27 points in a victory at Detroit on Monday. The 2021 second-rounder displayed his growth during that performance, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes.

“He obviously scored it really well,” Raptors head coach Nick Nurse said. “He is kind of naturally a point guard but when we have other lineups in there, we like having him off the ball so he’s not under so much duress to make plays all the time. I think sprinkling him on and off the ball helps him set some people up. And obviously he’s shooting the ball really well this year, when he’s catching and faced up, you’re expecting him to make them now, which is a huge step forward for him.”

We have more from the Atlantic Division:

The Raptors’ early-season injuries might be a blessing in disguise, Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports opines. Nurse has generally leaned heavily on his starters and used a tight rotation since becoming the head coach but now he’s gaining more trust in his bench.
Al Horford becomes a free agent next summer and wants to finish out his career with the Celtics, Steve Bulpett of Heavy.com reports. Horford gave an emphatic ‘Yes’ when asked if he wanted to stay in Boston. The 36-year-old forward also feels he has at least a couple more years left. “I’ve thought about it,” he said. “I want to keep playing for two, three more years, for sure.”
Celtics guard Malcolm Brogdon, who has missed the last three games due to right hamstring soreness, is listed as questionable to play against Atlanta on Wednesday, Jared Weiss of The Athletic tweets.