Al Horford Thread

[Fencer reregistered]

Read on Twitter

214 rebounds over 24 games isn't huge, but it is solid.

Wilt surely did it in fewer games, as the playoffs were shorter then.

[wco81]

Playoff Al is the best big in the finals. On either side.

I wonder what kind of Contract the Celtics will work out with Al, going forward?

You expecting a big home town discount?

Last time Celtics fans expected him to give a big discount he signed with another team.

The way he played if there’s another playoffs contender they might pay a big short term contract.

He might ring chase and give the Celtics a big discount but he may choose money again.

[GoCeltics123]

Playoff Al is the best big in the finals. On either side.

I wonder what kind of Contract the Celtics will work out with Al, going forward?

You expecting a big home town discount?

Last time Celtics fans expected him to give a big discount he signed with another team.

The way he played if there’s another playoffs contender they might pay a big short term contract.

He might ring chase and give the Celtics a big discount but he may choose money again.

He might, but going to Philly really didn't work out for him and you can tell he thought it was a mistake after it happened.

He's not a discount guy but I can see him taking a discount for the C's since he loves it here

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

214 rebounds over 24 games isn't huge, but it is solid.

Wilt surely did it in fewer games, as the playoffs were shorter then.

Many 35+ year old big men have played deep into the playoffs or have been part of teams that do. Not as many have contributed like Al did at his age. Haslem for example has 31 total playoff rebounds from age 35-42 lol.

[165bows]

Al was great but should have his minutes managed more upcoming. I think after next year a 1/10 or 2/20ish deal should be plenty to get it done - no contender is going to be able to offer more than that.

Being the oldest guy he was still the guy who pushed the pace as much as anyone.

[sam_I_am]

Al was great but should have his minutes managed more upcoming. I think after next year a 1/10 or 2/20ish deal should be plenty to get it done - no contender is going to be able to offer more than that.

Being the oldest guy he was still the guy who pushed the pace as much as anyone.

Last hurrah or is there one or two good years left? That is the big question to be answered.

[Smart2Nesmith43]

I wonder what kind of Contract the Celtics will work out with Al, going forward?

You expecting a big home town discount?

Last time Celtics fans expected him to give a big discount he signed with another team.

The way he played if there’s another playoffs contender they might pay a big short term contract.

He might ring chase and give the Celtics a big discount but he may choose money again.

He might, but going to Philly really didn't work out for him and you can tell he thought it was a mistake after it happened.

He's not a discount guy but I can see him taking a discount for the C's since he loves it here

Agreed, he left Atlanta because they wouldn't give him the contract he wanted and did the same with the Celtics last time around. No reason to assume he'll leave money on the table, that hasn't been his MO. What will help the Celtics is that he'll be 37 by the end of his contract so contenders are probably going to be the only teams interested and they are unlikely to have cap space so he'll probably be looking at MLE money elsewhere. Celtics should have no issue with that kind of contract.

[wco81]

You expecting a big home town discount?

Last time Celtics fans expected him to give a big discount he signed with another team.

The way he played if there’s another playoffs contender they might pay a big short term contract.

He might ring chase and give the Celtics a big discount but he may choose money again.

He might, but going to Philly really didn't work out for him and you can tell he thought it was a mistake after it happened.

He's not a discount guy but I can see him taking a discount for the C's since he loves it here

Agreed, he left Atlanta because they wouldn't give him the contract he wanted and did the same with the Celtics last time around. No reason to assume he'll leave money on the table, that hasn't been his MO. What will help the Celtics is that he'll be 37 by the end of his contract so contenders are probably going to be the only teams interested and they are unlikely to have cap space so he'll probably be looking at MLE money elsewhere. Celtics should have no issue with that kind of contract.

Yeah someone just posted that he might go for 1/10 or 2/20 million.

That's a low bar to clear if the Celtics only offered that much.

Celtics have one of the highest attendance in the league. I don't know how their ticket prices compare to other markets, like the average ticket prices, but they're probably doing pretty well on revenues, with jersey and merchandise sales, plenty of sellouts of home games at probably top 10 average ticket prices in the league.

The owners have paid for Brown and Tatum and they have to probably pay luxury taxes in a couple of seasons when those deals really kick in to higher annual salary cap numbers.

They got a great deal with Robert Williams and they have to make decisions on some of their younger players coming off rookie deals.

Horford just may have had his best playoffs run of his career at age 36, 35 MPG, 12 PPG/9.3 RPG, 1.3 BPG, 3.3 APG on 52.3/48/77.8 shooting splits.

No guarantees he can do that again or play a ton of minutes at those productive rates during the regular season, given his age.

But he's shot 42.9% in his playoffs career from 3-point range, though only 1.9 3PA average. However, he started really shooting the 3 in the latter half or third of his careers and has kept high efficiency as he's increased the 3PAs.

The team and Horford both know they wouldn't have gotten as far as they did without him. Kevin O'Connor said the Celtics were ahead of schedule in reaching the Finals this year but I'm sure the Celtics fans don't think so, because they've been to the ECF many times and Brown and Tatum are already making big money so their window is now.

So do they risk low-balling Horford, because I don't see an easy way to replace his role or production for a title contender.

[hugepatsfan]

I find it highly unlikely that Horford has higher than MLE offers from other teams after next year. He'll be 37. Either way, it's just not something worth worrying about right now. You let him play out his last year and then handle it next year. If he's still playing at such a high level, then you have full bird rights to match any offer if you want. Seems unlikely the market for a 37 year old Horford is really going too high though. Even if he continues to play well, there's just such inherent risk for any team spending big money on someone that old.

[Spotter]

I find it highly unlikely that Horford has higher than MLE offers from other teams after next year. He'll be 37. Either way, it's just not something worth worrying about right now. You let him play out his last year and then handle it next year. If he's still playing at such a high level, then you have full bird rights to match any offer if you want. Seems unlikely the market for a 37 year old Horford is really going too high though. Even if he continues to play well, there's just such inherent risk for any team spending big money on someone that old.

I agree 100%. Let Al play out this upcoming season. I will add he is on an expiring contract and that always has value with the trade market. I’m sure the Celtics have a financial plan for just not the upcoming season but the year after when Al’s 26 mil contract comes off the books. Which increases the need to be active this summer with the Fournier TPE and MLE. Regardless, Al had a great season and hope he can have another next year.

[soxfan2003]

Al Horford was one of those very good players, playing beyond his capabilities at times since he shot beyond reasonable expectations from 3 and at times was just on fire. There is no perfect stat but he finished 3rd overall in post season war behind only Jimmy Butler and Steph Curry. Doncic was 4th, Wiggins 5th and Giannis 6th, Draymond Green 7, Jaylen Brown 8th in the stat which is based upon post season games played so Giannis most impressive among those players and then probably Doncic.

Until the last series Horford was usually very good to great defensively. In the finals thanks to having to cover Curry a decent amount, his defensive impact was not as good. But in that series, Horford still played well enough overall for the Celtics to win it. His TS% was really high and even though Golden State often limited his 3's, the Celtics should have gone to him from 2 and average of perhaps 3-4 more times per game to lighten the defensive attention on Tatum and Brown.

But in the short term, Horford is needed unless the Celtics can get someone as good which is very unlikely. It is a tough position to be in since there is a good chance he declines a large amount next post season. Even just losing 5-10% of his remaining athleticism from increased age and then having a randomly bad shooting playoffs from 3, would drop his value precipitously. That is why after next year no matter how well he plays, it will be impossible for him to get a big contract beyond 1 year from another team. A healthier Rob and better bench can hopefully more than make up for Horford's decline next year but it will be tough to replace him with cap space limitations and not having a stash of draft picks from other teams. He hit 48% of his 3's this post season. His defense on Giannis was a major reason why the Celtics got past Milwaukee. No one stops Giannis especially with how refs called it but Horford slowed him up when Grant was really the only other Celtics who could.

[wco81]

Is Horford locked into his $25-26 million number for next year?

Or is it a team option and they could try to get him to reduce his cap hit for an extension?

If he gets his $26 million next season no matter what, I guess the team could look to trade him if they don't want the cap hit.

[ParticleMan]

Horford is a keeper for next year, and for MLE money beyond as well. Playoff Al is a thing. He knows how to pace himself.

I think he wore down by the end, though. The big issue to me was Theis. Love his hustle but he became basically unplayable against the best teams. This wore Al down more. 35.4 mpg is ridiculous, he should really be in the 28 mpg range. Rob being healthy would also help.

So I'm not worried about Al, I think he will continue to be who he is. He doesn't rely on athleticism, and he hasn't had any major injuries. But we need to get a more reliable 3rd big than Theis or Grant, and we somehow need Rob to be fully healthy.

[wco81]

He doesn't rely on athleticism?

He was picked #3 in the draft because of length, athleticism and skills.

He still moves very well. Before he left the Celtics, I thought he was still a big cog in the defense. He used to call out defenses IIRC.

Even if he didn't shoot the lights out in the playoffs, he'd have been valuable on defense alone and even shooting 35% would have made him very effective.

[Parliament10]

Read on Twitter

Read on Twitter

[hugepatsfan]

Makes absolutely no sense to extend him a year early. He'll be starting that extension at age 37.

[soxfan2003]

He doesn't rely on athleticism?

He was picked #3 in the draft because of length, athleticism and skills.

He still moves very well. Before he left the Celtics, I thought he was still a big cog in the defense. He used to call out defenses IIRC.

Even if he didn't shoot the lights out in the playoffs, he'd have been valuable on defense alone and even shooting 35% would have made him very effective.

You are right, he relies upon athleticism to a certain degree. Every NBA player does. I don't expect Horford to every have a post season this good again. That being said since he is tall, fairly strong and highly skilled when it comes to shooting to go alongside good passing, he lies upon athleticism less than some other bigs. Given the importance of the 3 ball as long as he can still shoot that, he should at least carve out a role for himself over the next 1-2 seasons.

[zoyathedestroya]

Read on Twitter

[FlatearthZorro]

Read on Twitter

Wish he took more shots in the Finals.
He should stay around.

[Parliament10]

Read on Twitter

Wish he took more shots in the Finals.
He should stay around.

I wonder what Al's playing time will look like, next Season?