The AL Horford Dilemma

[Jamaaliver]

Team Option in Year 5.

Would Al go for any contract that involves a team option? Especially with the number of suitors he's bound to have this summer.

Very good question. I put the option in the 5th year because of that.

Whether it's a team option in Year Five or just a 4 year deal elsewhere...it's a 'PUSH' since four years of the contract would be guaranteed either way.

Just a potential negotiating tactic to help protect both sides. Maybe we include a 'No-Trade Clause' as incentive to include that Team Option.


Four Years of Guaranteed salary. Slightly more money than he can get on the Open Market. Never getting traded without his consent...that's an awful lot of protection for a guy who avg 15 ppg last season.

He'd have to seriously consider this.

And I still believe he can thrive at PF playing next to a real Center...and a scoring SF.

[D21]

It's a dilemma because he's a UFA, and we still don't know what he can do next to a C.
When you see team like CHI having both Noah and Gasol... imagine if we had Gasol for 8M, even 10M, we would have got an answer on how it works with C/Horford/Millsap
Tiago could give part of the answer, but he didn't play enough to see anything.

I would prefer to keep Al, but not for the Max, and if we get a better C

[PandaKidd]

Millsap cant play the 3, hes not quick enough IMO. maybe if there was a rim protector behind him it wouldnt be so bad, but i want no part of Millsap playing the 3 for extended minutes.

[Jamaaliver]

...I want no part of Millsap playing the 3 for extended minutes.

Agreed. Millsap has been great at PF. There is no good argument to move him to SF.

I'd let AL walk away before forcing a 32 year old, All-NBA caliber PF to the perimeter. It wouldn't benefit him or the team.



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[Jamaaliver]

A person familiar with the organization told Sporting News that landing Hawks star Al Horford is the Rockets' top-line goal in free agency, and Ryan Anderson also would be a possibility. Also, expect Morey to be creative when pursuing sign-and-trade deals involving star players like Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler or Carmelo Anthony, should they become available.

Here


Thoughts on a potential Sign & Trade of D12 for Horford?
Or Horford's fit with a shoot first young guard in J Harden?

[ATL Boy]

A person familiar with the organization told Sporting News that landing Hawks star Al Horford is the Rockets' top-line goal in free agency, and Ryan Anderson also would be a possibility. Also, expect Morey to be creative when pursuing sign-and-trade deals involving star players like Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler or Carmelo Anthony, should they become available.

Here


Thoughts on a potential Sign & Trade of D12 for Horford?
Or Horford's fit with a shoot first young guard in J Harden?

Don't know if Al will be too keen to go play with a ball dominant shoot first guard in Harden, who has a history of not being a great teammate.

As for the double S&T, I'd like to get Dwight if we lose Al, but I'd be much more comfortable giving him a 4 year deal as opposed to a 5 year deal.

[jayu70]

A person familiar with the organization told Sporting News that landing Hawks star Al Horford is the Rockets' top-line goal in free agency, and Ryan Anderson also would be a possibility. Also, expect Morey to be creative when pursuing sign-and-trade deals involving star players like Blake Griffin, Jimmy Butler or Carmelo Anthony, should they become available.

Here


Thoughts on a potential Sign & Trade of D12 for Horford?
Or Horford's fit with a shoot first young guard in J Harden?

Pass on D12 for Horford.
Doubt Horford has interest in playing alongside Harden.

[Jamaaliver]

The Spurs will make runs at top-level free agents Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley and possibly Pau Gasol but they will also attempt to infuse the bench with more youth and athleticism, McDonald adds. Here

[jayu70]

The Spurs will make runs at top-level free agents Kevin Durant, Al Horford, Mike Conley and possibly Pau Gasol but they will also attempt to infuse the bench with more youth and athleticism, McDonald adds. Here

NO surprise. Al will have lots of suitors.

[Jamaaliver]

From an article written a few months back (prior to the trade deadline). Sources indicate ownership has serious doubts about giving AL the supermax.

Because of the anticipated demand, Horford is likely to receive offers up to the maximum amount, which would be $144.5 million over five years should he stay with the Hawks. Under that kind of contract, Horford would turn 35 (and would earn $32.7 million) in the final year of the deal. Sources say that...has the Hawks' brass a bit skittish.

Should Horford remain with the Hawks through the conclusion of the season, a rival team could offer him a maximum of four years and $107.3 million. Budenholzer regards Horford and Korver as essential to both what the Hawks do on the floor and the professionalism they've cultivated in the locker room.

Here

Hopefully, we at least offer the same 4 year deal he's likely to get elsewhere. He'd go a long way towards helping transition to a younger team and the next generation of Hawks. The elder statesman of the franchise. The issue with that is...ownership and new mgmt. has no real ties to the young man. He's essentially just another player.

[Jamaaliver]

A little pro-Horford propaganda...courtesy of the Hawks organization (and AL's little sister):

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[Jamaaliver]

Mark Bradley, longtime AJC journalist, surmises that, based on what he's heard, read, seen the last few months...AL stays a Hawk for the foreseeable future.

this is the silly season concerning NBA free-agents-to-be — they can’t officially negotiate with any team until July 1 — and the silliest part of the Horford rumors is this:

He’s probably not going anywhere.

The Hawks can offer him a five-year contract at maximum money; no other team can offer more than four years. The Hawks would surely prefer not to offer max money for max years unless there’s no alternative. (And there might not be, what with so many other clubs eager to lure him away.)

If Horford really, really, really wants to chase a title, those organizations mentioned above would appear better bets. getting Horford to re-up won’t necessarily bring the Hawks any closer to a championship or even the NBA finals. It might actually nudge them further away. If they use their money to keep him, would they have enough to buy an even more decorated free agent?

The bottom line is that Horford means too much to the Hawks for them to let him walk, and he likes it here enough that he’s not inclined to get an urge for going. I wouldn’t call it an absolute lock that he’s a Hawk next season...I would, however, suggest that it’s a very snug knot.

Here

[Jamaaliver]

The list of AL's potential suitors grows:

Read on Twitter

[td00]

I don't see Al leaving, nor getting less than a max 3-4 year deal.

The problem is, he can get that same deal from LA, ORL & DET.

Bud might have to give him that Year 5 to squash all doubt.

The only way for the Hawks to allow Al to leave is if there were strong indications Dwight would consider coming home, and at least for the early term, it would ease the loss of Al. We're not getting another big man to go along with Al & Sap.

[HMFFL]

Darren Wolfson:
Heard today Wizards/Celtics/Heat also expected to be in mix for Horford. #Twolves likely call. But won’t get him. twitter.com/ESPNSteinLine/…
– via Twitter DWolfsonKSTP

[HMFFL]

If there is any truth that Noah will receive a max offer from Washington, why won't they offer Horford a max, and I believe Boston/Miami is accurate. I just hope Horford's not wanting to wait and extend free agency as long as possible. Miami concerns me but I do expect Horford to be loyal to us.

[MaceCase]

Washington's beat writer completely refuted the Noah hoax.

Miami continuously gets mentioned for all of these free agents but they have less than 40 million in cap space and Wade's cap hold alone eats up 30 million of that. They can't fit a 25 mil starting salary into that. Even if they decide to renounce Wade's cap hold they are looking at 15 million to fill out the rest of the roster around a max signing. Good luck with that. Wade is highly unlikely to take an 80% pay cut and Goran Dragic and Chris Bosh's questionable health aren't exactly an attractive duo.

Riley's certainly charismatic enough to get a meeting with free agents out of respect for his previous accomplishments but his pitch to Aldridge the previous summer was either sign elsewhere on a 1 year deal and then join the Heat the following summer or take the MLE..... yea.

[Spider156]

I don't see many S&T's (if any) happening this season due to the massive cap spike. Sign and trades are only useful for teams who are over the cap because it allows them to ship out some of their own players in order to have the cap space to sign the guy they are pursuing (in this case Horford). Since every team in the league is going to have oodles of cap space there really isn't any reason for them to execute a S&T for Horford's services. They can just sign him outright to a max without losing any other players.

Pistons are suitors for a Sign and Trade. Horford is from Michigan and I've heard him talk about it in the past specially with family going to University of Michigan. I think this is what'll happen with Horford. He'll get his max in Atlanta but not for 4-5 years. It'll be 2-3 years which Horford won't take because it's true it is the biggest payday for him and he'll never get another chance. Pistons don't have the max space to sign Horford outright, they need to shed contracts. I'm guessing if he wants to come to Michigan ("home"), Atlanta will do a sign and trade probably involving Meeks (7 million expiring contract) along with a prospect like Bullock who is a SF and quite possibly either a first round pick or Baynes who has played for the Spurs and I'm sure Budenholzer would like him as part of the trade. Personally I think it's best if your organization lets go of Horford. No I don't think the Hawks will be the same after that. Your window for a championship was the past 2 years unfortunately just how it goes. It is a superstar run league and Horford isn't one as you guys mention and signing him would hamstring you down unless you get a star SF like Butler somehow. Anything is possible, Atlanta does have the upper hand with Horford's contract. But before trying to acquire another star, Horford's contract must be taken care of first and foremost which will be tough.

[td00]

Ive been saying it since Day 1 when Al was drafted: Al is seen as our version of TIm Duncan. That's fine and all, but now its going to be an expensive keep. I don't mind the Sap/Al/Tiago/Hump frontline, and Tiago/Hump are terrific backups and very cheap which makes up for what we're going to have to pay Al.

Now, no less than 10 teams interested in Al, how can you not retain him? Ressler, focus on shooters, frontline guys who get buckets and get to the line. Durant is not realistic as your only advantage is you're not in the West. Even if Grant Hill gets Durant's ear, we still need shooters for our backcourt.

Fans know we're not getting the big names, so why can't management seet his? Let's go after the ones that are within reach and make them the priority instead of wasting time being a 2nd tier contender for the best FAs.

[Jamaaliver]

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