Al Horford: Would He Leave Atlanta Via Free Agency?
By John Buhler
Atlanta Hawks Starting Center Al Horford is entering the final season of his five-year extension signed with the Hawks back on November 1, 2010. That contract extension went into effect during the 2011-12, making The Boss a free agent at the end of the 2015-16. With that being the upcoming season, would Big Al leave Atlanta via free agency next summer?
Al Horford is a 3x NBA All-Star and made the All-NBA Third Team in 2010-11 as one of the best stretch fives in the NBA. Horford will make $12 Million next season, an amount less that what a Top 25 player in the Association deserves. Even though he is the face of the franchise, would Al Horford really leave the Atlanta Hawks after 9 incredible seasons at the Highlight Factory.
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Next summer has three prized free agents and Al Horford is one of them, the other two are Kevin Durant and LeBron James. All three should garner top dollar with their new deals. LeBron will likely stay in Cleveland to bring a championship to his home region. Durant may look to bring a title to OKC or venture back home to play in DC for the Washington Wizards. Where could Al Horford potentially go if the new ownership group cannot keep Big Al in Atlanta?
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Three places outside of Atlanta make some sense to me: Oklahoma City, Detroit, and Orlando. Oklahoma City because Al Horford would again have the opportunity to play for his college coach at the Chesapeake Energy Center for Billy Donovan. Both men helped bring back-to-back National Titles to Gainesville for the Florida Gators in 2006 and 2007.
Detroit makes some sense as that is Al’s hometown. I could see him playing alongside center André Drummond at power forward, Horford’s natural position, at the Palace in Auburn Hills if Stan Van Gundy decides to grossly overpay for Al Horford’s talents. Though a humble guy, it would take a maximum contract and then some to bring Big Al to Motown to play for the Detroit Pistons. It’s farfetched but not impossible.
The reason Orlando makes sense is that Al Horford played collegiately in nearby Gainesville, Fl. New HC Scott Skiles may opt to ship rising star C Nikola Vucevic for other assets if he can get a low post star with some outside touch like Al Horford. Given that Atlanta and Orlando are division rivals, I would hope that if Al does leave Atlanta it wouldn’t be to any of the other four teams in the Southeast Division. Talk about soul crushing to face him at least four times a year. No way, sir! Cannot let that happen!
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All that aside, I sense that Al Horford is a very loyal guy, not on Marc Gasol‘s level with his adopted hometown of Memphis, but somewhere close to it. The new ownership group led by Tony Ressler and Grant Hill will find a way to keep Big Al in volt green for life. With HC Mike Budenholzer becoming one of the best in the business and Wes Wilcox getting promoted to GM, the front office seems more on top of it than ever before in Atlanta. This doesn’t include the impact CEO Steve Koonin or new President of Basketball Operations Malik Rose could have on getting Al to stay.
The thought of Steve Holman, Bob Rathbun, and Dominique Wilkins crying because a high-class human being like Al Horford walked away from something great brewing in Atlanta is an absolutely devastating thought for diehard Atlanta Hawks fans. We’re talking about feeling worse than when the Atlanta Braves traded All-Star Closer Craig Kimbrel to the San Diego Padres the day before the start of the 2015. Worst Easter Sunday of all time…
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Though I don’t think Al Horford will leave the Hawks after next season, one thing is certain: Al Horford will command the max and the Atlanta front office will have to pay him handsomely to keep him in town. I’d like to believe that Horford would take a ‘hometown discount’ to keep the Hawks competitive, yet financially flexible.
The thought of Al Horford leaving the Atlanta Hawks does not sit well with me and neither should it with you. Here’s to hopefully making Al Horford a lifelong Atlanta Hawk! I want to see #15 hanging from the rafters so I can tell my future children just how incredible of a player Al Horford was for the only NBA team he ever played for. Let’s Go Hawks!
Next: Atlanta Hawks 2015-2016 Schedule Released
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