Al Horford (Appreciation) Thread – (Signs with GSW 9/28/25)

[hugepatsfan]

Defend the rim
Switch onto the perimeter
Defend post players
Space the floor
Pass well enough to run offense through
Score in the post
Lob threat

Not saying he did all of them at an elite level, even in his prime, but he did all of them at a good level and quite frankly still does. People should really appreciate what a unique combination of skills he had and still does. And then on top of that you add his team mindset and leadership qualities. He’s not the superstar player but he’s the type of guy to dream of your team having in that next wave of the roster. Still hopeful that either he opts out next year and comes back or even plays a third year here if he’s still effective. He left a strong legacy here that should be appreciated.

[GoCeltics123]

Love him to death. I really don't understand ring chasing when he has one, but whatever.

I do think him leaving again eliminates his jersey being retired

[OnlyTheTruth]

He was an old breed dirty nose player who delivered almost every night. Sad day for the Celtics

[return2glory]

Al gave us all he had. There is no way the Celtics win a title in 2024 without him. KP got hurt as usual and played about 2 games the entire playoffs that year. Kornet wasn't good enough to play more than 10 minutes a game in the playoffs that year and didn't play in all the games because of DNP CD.
Al was the only big we had.

Thank you Al for all you did. Class act. Great teammate.

[Fierce1]

Al coming back this season is really too good to be true.

But Al really played a big role in getting us Banner 18.

While it would've been great to have repeated, getting Banner 18 was really special and I consider it one of the best championships the Celtics got in Celtic history.

Moving forward, the Celtics really need a big man similar to that of Al Horford.

[SuperDeluxe]

Al is dead to me (he left us twice for teams we don't appreciate much).

Also, I love Al.

[KamikazeK]

Our bigs situation is so cooked

[redslastlaugh]

We got players to trade, we got a $22 million KP trade exception, we got most of our picks. There are guys like Jarrett Allen/Jakob Poeltl who are probably coming onto the trade market over the next 12 - 18 mos ...

I trust Brad!

Our bigs situation is so cooked

[cl2117]

Obviously wish Al all the best, he's an absolute legend, but I'm going to struggle to pull for the Warriors.

I hope it goes well for him. He's still got plenty left in the tank with his shocking athleticism at this age but also his "old-man" playing style anyway. I think Horford could be one of the guys who could genuinely play well into his 40's if he was willing to keep taking smaller roles and smaller pay-checks. He's such a good teammate that he'll slide easily into player-coach and then eventually just the guy who gets wheeled out there to give the fans a boost in garbage time. I could see him in the league for 5 more years easily on that trajectory.

Horford, Jrue and KP all deserve standing o's for the rest of their careers when they come to Boston.

[ThePigeon]

Al is dead to me
The F**** Warriors?!
When the going gets tough Al gets going (to other teams)

[Joshyjess]

Was really hoping Al was going to retire as a C. He was one of my favorites, and really hate to see him go. I am glad that he didn't sign with the Fakers, and to be honest, I don't really see him helping the Warriors get very far (such an old team), but I do wish him well, and hope that he stays healthy, and enjoys his last couple of years.

[djFan71]

I do think him leaving again eliminates his jersey being retired

Yeah, he was borderline before, but leaving twice closes that door.

[itrsteve]

Al is dead to me
The F**** Warriors?!
When the going gets tough Al gets going (to other teams)

Hard disagree. He had to look out for where the money and playing time is.

Will always love Al and his contribution over the years but this year starts with building towards our future with a lot of unpolished bigs - any minute he's out on the court takes away from building talent we will need in 26/27 and beyond.

Being buried with the Warriors will have zero impact on us and he can always retire a C on a 1-day.

[ThePigeon]

Al is dead to me
The F**** Warriors?!
When the going gets tough Al gets going (to other teams)

Hard disagree. He had to look out for where the money and playing time is.

Will always love Al and his contribution over the years but this year starts with building towards our future with a lot of unpolished bigs - any minute he's out on the court takes away from building talent we will need in 26/27 and beyond.

Being buried with the Warriors will have zero impact on us and he can always retire a C on a 1-day.

I wrote this somewhere else - he should have taken the minimum and be a mentor to our bigs. Then transition to the coaching staff if he wants to. I don't want him to take time from our developing bigs, but having him on the team will push the developing bigs harder, as there is a real big behind them and if they'll not perform their best he'll take their place.

He opted for more money. Can't blame him, but can slightly hate him for going to the Warriors
And I don't want to take him back for a farewell tour either

[itrsteve]

Al is dead to me
The F**** Warriors?!
When the going gets tough Al gets going (to other teams)

Hard disagree. He had to look out for where the money and playing time is.

Will always love Al and his contribution over the years but this year starts with building towards our future with a lot of unpolished bigs - any minute he's out on the court takes away from building talent we will need in 26/27 and beyond.

Being buried with the Warriors will have zero impact on us and he can always retire a C on a 1-day.

I wrote this somewhere else - he should have taken the minimum and be a mentor to our bigs. Then transition to the coaching staff if he wants to. I don't want him to take time from our developing bigs, but having him on the team will push the developing bigs harder, as there is a real big behind them and if they'll not perform their best he'll take their place.

He opted for more money. Can't blame him, but can slightly hate him for going to the Warriors
And I don't want to take him back for a farewell tour either

I suppose. Getting buried in GSW doesn't hurt us at all and the ol' guy still gets to play, I don't see the harm. Their years of making noise are long gone.

Now when he went to Philly? That was egregious.

[greenbeans]

Long live Al Horford and may a sickness fall upon anyone wishing otherwise. A beautiful man, responsible for some beautiful moments, culminating in a key role on a title winner.

[Hal14]

Love him to death. I really don't understand ring chasing when he has one, but whatever.

Because he's a competitor. This might be his last season. He wants to be on a team with a better chance at winning a ring during possibly his last season.

True competitors want to keep winning more rings - not just 1. Jrue already won a ring and it was us, Philly and Utah who were in trade talks to get him 2 years ago. He pushed for Boston, since he thought we had a better chance at a ring.

Ray already won a ring in Boston but he went to miami to have a better chance at winning another. Cassell already won 2 rings in houston but he was still a ring chaser late in his career, came to boston and won another. There's many other examples. Including Ron Harper, ring chasing with the Lakers after winning 3 in Chicago, etc.

Plus the $ was a big factor here too. He went to GS to get paid more..Brad said because the aprons, he made an offer to Al but implied it was only the minimum. Al is going to where he has a better chance to win and make more $. I can't hate that..

I do think him leaving again eliminates his jersey being retired

Agreed

[threrf23]

A team in a nice climate that is full of highly competitive, older vets who want to go all out in an attempt to win one last ring or two has cap space and wants to pay him. If you want to fault him for accepting, whatever.

When he left in '19, he ended up regretting and we ended up regretting. I didn't mind seeing him leave cause cap interests & I wasn't sure about how his legs were trending and at best I thought he still brought down the team's energy level and didn't always contribute enough on the boards. I kind of grew to regret my take, but now he is on the verge of 40, we have clear incentive to avoid a cap hit, and the team is older, more experienced, and hopefully less reliant on Al's locker room presence. We are about to find out maybe how much credit Joe has gotten for Al's work.

I actually still think he can impact the game like a top ~20 player (per minute) so long as he doesn't play many minutes reg season and is limited to a 10-20 minute role in the postseason. But the issue we run into here is that Al has captain status in the locker room and he likely wants more minutes than that & we don't have a stud big man to force him out of his desired role.

Both team & player are arguably acting in their best interests here.