Why the Thunder and Horford decided to “part ways”
Heading into the 2020-21 season, the Oklahoma City Thunder knew that they were rebuilding and that there was going to be an emphasis put on developing their young talents. They acquired Al Horford on draft night trade with the Philadelphia 76ers in a deal that sent 3x NBA champion Danny Green to the Sixers, but there was no long-term plan for Horford to remain with the Thunder.
The main goal for Oklahoma City was to bring in the veteran forward as a mentor for the young players and to get the team trending in the right direction early on in terms of progression and player development. Winning was never something the Thunder saw coming in the 2020-21 season, which is why the decision to have Al Horford sit out was smooth.
The veteran big man knew what he was getting into when he joined the OKC Thunder via trade and due to GM Sam Presti being so willing to work something out for him in the offseason, Horford had no problem playing his part with the Thunder. One league source talked with NBA Analysis Network about Horford’s time in Oklahoma City and why the veteran decided to sit out games instead of doing something else.
“Al is a competitor and to be honest, we are talking about an All-Star, potential Hall-of-Fame type of player, so being on the Thunder really did not do anything for his career trajectory. Everybody knew Oklahoma City was going to be playing young guys instead of veteran players on their roster and there was no reason for him to hang around there, especially if he was going to be playing in the G-League.”
Other than being a role model and mentor to some young guys, Al Horford really did not gain anything from being on the Oklahoma City Thunder’s roster, hence why this agreement was reached between the two sides for them to search for a new home for him this past offseason.
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“Moving his contract was going to be something that was near impossible during the season, but when this decision was made for Horford to sit out the rest of the season for the Thunder, there were a handful of teams around the league that were interested in him,” the league source stated.
“Atlanta, Sacramento, Golden State and Boston were all interested in adding him to their roster, but the money just did not work at the time in a trade. Now, back in Boston, I think we should expect to see Al be the same competitor he has always been as this team looks to prove they are a contender.”
At the time when the Oklahoma City Thunder and Horford came to the agreement for him to sit out the remainder of the 2020-21 season, he was owed $81M through the 2022-23 season, but no teams could really absorb this kind of contract midseason. Waiting until this past offseason was the only way a team could trade for Al Horford and the Celtics were able to reach an agreement that is somewhat favorable to them even though the veteran is owed $53.5M still.
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Boston will be paying him $27M this season and then his contract is partially guaranteed for $14.5M next season, so the Celtics could potentially waive him to save some cap space and sign him at a lower price if they wanted to keep Horford after this year. There are options when it comes to Al Horford’s contract in Boston, which is why this move made sense for both sides.
