Danny Ainge has found his first star as the Boston Celtics secured a four-year, $113 million contract commitment from Al Horford. Horford leaves the Atlanta Hawks, who he spent his entire career with. Horford himself confirmed the news via Twitter saying “Celtic Pride.”
The Horford signing now puts the Celtics in a stronger position to sign Kevin Durant, who is up for a max contract of his own. Durant is reported to be making his decision sometime in the next 24-48 hours and it could come down to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and Celtics.
Horford is a four-time NBA All-Star and has averaged 14.3 points per game over his nine-year career with the Hawks since being made the third overall selection out of the University of Florida in the 2007 NBA Draft. This season, Horford averaged 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and a career-high 1.5 blocks per game.
On the other hand, the Atlanta Hawks will now feature a frontcourt of newly signed big man Dwight Howard and Paul Millsap, who was rumored to be on the move if the Hawks could re-sign Horford. After paying Kent Bazemore and Dwight Howard in free agency, the Hawks were faced with the difficult task of letting Al Horford go.
Horford will likely split time between the 4 and 5 in Boston depending on his frontcourt partner. The Celtics now have an important decision to make on pending RFA’s Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller, who both could lose time and money after this signing.
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