Al Horford: he gawn

E5 Yaz

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DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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I'm not so sure, they'd have been probably no worse than the 3rd best defense in the league, and Tatum/Brown/Hayward brings a good amount of offense if Hayward is healthier. They'd basically be using the strategy they used 2 years ago when Kyrie went down. The East may be a mess next year.
Even if you are right that they had a shot, I get that Horford may not want to gamble on catching lightning in a bottle again. Of course, let's see what happens - this could all be noise and he could be back again. On the other hand, its probably time for the Celtics to be thinking about another two or three year plan around the Js.
 

JCizzle

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Even if you are right that they had a shot, I get that Horford may not want to gamble on catching lightning in a bottle again. Of course, let's see what happens - this could all be noise and he could be back again. On the other hand, its probably time for the Celtics to be thinking about another two or three year plan around the Js.
If it's Bulpett reporting it then it might as well be Ainge saying it.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Best news all day.....extending an aging horford would have been beyond dumb.
I hope people know what they are getting with next year's Celtics team. They are in a tough spot with the cap and with Kyrie and Horford out of the fold, they lose their best offensive player and one of their best defenders. All else equal, this team will be lucky to finish much above .500.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Oh boy this is NOT good. Horford not discussing contract with Celtics anymore. Now considering a 4-year deal with another team.

https://twitter.com/SteveBHoop/status/1141124460805873665
As is his right as a FA which shouldn't have been unexpected to anyone. What HAS changed is the direction of the organization with Kyrie leaving and the rumors of us trading up to #4 for Darius Garland which would place us in full-fledged retooling mode and a very young team. If we aren't going to pay Horford something like 3/$85m or 4/$110m then somebody else will.......this was always going to be the case with so many teams under the cap.
 

DJnVa

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So can anyone give us correct amount of cap space this will give us?
 

Cellar-Door

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Al Horford even as he ages will likely be worth a full max for at least 3 more years, he's a legitimately terrific player and losing him for nothing is a brutal blow to the chances of the Celtics being a contender during Tatum's rookie deal. This team is basically the Nets without the cap space now.
 

Cellar-Door

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So can anyone give us correct amount of cap space this will give us?
None, unless they renounce his hold, Kyrie's hold, Rozier's RFA rights, Morris's hold etc. If they renounced everyone and either moved or stashed the picks they can get to 32.7M, but it's unlikely

Time to find a taker for Hayward.
Why? You'd be selling extremely low and likely have to pay someone to take him off your hands given his salary. They should let him play, and if he's back to what he was pre-injury, then you can trade him and maybe get something back.
 

JCizzle

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Who will trade anything of value for him? The more realistic scenario is the Celtics looking to trade Jaylen Brown and, perhaps, anything else not bolted down.
Why would they trade a young player like Brown?? I'd think they'd build around him and Tatum at this point.
 

RedOctober3829

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Spotrac has the Celtics with over $70 million in cap holds. If they renounce Horford's rights (cap hold they say is over $38 million), does that money become added into their cap space? It's very confusing. They've taken him off the active roster but his cap hold is there.
 

Soxy

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The best part of this was watching Woj on SportsCenter. He had a segment saying that Horford opting out was good for Boston, as he was likely to sign a team friendly deal for 3-4 years that would give them cap relief.

About 10-15 minutes later, they showed his tweet saying Horford was prepared to find a deal elsewhere.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Why would they trade a young player like Brown?? I'd think they'd build around him and Tatum at this point.
Because he has two years of team control and unless you think they will contend in that timeframe - you listen for offers on him. His value can increase over time with improved play but it can also decrease as a function of not only play but diminishing team control.

I love Jaylen Brown and want him on the Celtics. However if they are looking at a mini-rebuild or a re-tooling or whatever you want to call it, you have to consider moving him and Smart as well.
 

Cellar-Door

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yes, as a said, if they renounce everyone and get rid of their draft picks they would have cap space. He's not reporting that they will, and I doubt they do, for the reason that what max player are they signing? Seems more likely they wait and see what Rozier gets offered, keep an eye on Morris' market, and if both are prices they don't want to pay (or in Morris' case he cares more about contending than money) they'll go shopping in the second tier (Vucevic, Collison, Middleton, Randle).

Because he has two years of team control and unless you think they will contend in that timeframe - you listen for offers on him. His value can increase over time with improved play but it can also decrease as a function of not only play but diminishing team control.

I love Jaylen Brown and want him on the Celtics. However if they are looking at a mini-rebuild or a re-tooling or whatever you want to call it, you have to consider moving him and Smart as well.
They have another year and then his RFA rights, if they like him they can keep him, and he fits the mold of a guy who is in your timeline, you know his floor at this level, and you're unlikely to get anyone better in trade or from a draft pick traded for.
 

ehaz

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Alright time to rename the off-season thread “Tank for LaMelo”
 

DannyDarwinism

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KOC is just doing what we are doing which is speculating. The thing to remember is that Ainge seemingly has enough leash to pursue just about any avenue. Nothing he does should surprise anyone.
I wonder if Ainge has a specific plan. I suspect it’s just his general desire to maintain flexibility, versus Al wanting to max out his value in what’s likely his last chance to really do so. Can’t say I blame Ainge there if he’s decided it’s asset-acquisition time again- but next year’s team just became a lot less exciting as the underdogs who could over perform and go on a decent playoff run team. Plus I just really like the dude and his game. Somehow still underrated by casual fans.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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As a huge Al fan, this hurts. Really thought he'd be back and next season would be fun as hell. Now we're Miami but with a few young guys with more upside.
 

mcpickl

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Crazy how fast this team went from possible title contender to rebuilding situation if this is true.

This summer is a disaster and it hasn't even started yet.
 

EvilEmpire

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What Boston is NOT offering is championship aspirations.
Sure, I get that. But I do think it is true that Horford really likes Boston. I'm just wondering how much money they expect him to leave on the table to stay with a somewhat rebuilding team.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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Crazy how fast this team went from possible title contender to rebuilding situation if this is true.

This summer is a disaster and it hasn't even started yet.
It's super disheartening. Just two years ago this team won the draft lottery the night before they were about to play in G1 of the ECF. What a nosedive from that moment.
 

lexrageorge

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Also can read this as hopefully they're figuring out the potential for a sign and trade.
Unless Horford wants to go to a team that doesn't have the cap space, I doubt we'll see a sign-and-trade. The new CBA has made sign-and-trade's a rarity by design.
 

Jed Zeppelin

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Thought he would stay for sure but Hayward injury/last season obviously just broke shit beyond repair. Sucks but there are still plenty of assets, at least.
 

BaseballJones

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It would blow to lose Horford. He's really good. But this really opens the door for Brown and Tatum to show what they've got. If they aren't up to the task of growing into stars, well, then this team is going nowhere. But if they can be as good as what I think is possible, this will be the year they take the Leap.

But they do need quite a bit of help, methinks. Rough offseason already.
 

HomeRunBaker

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Sure, I get that. But I do think it is true that Horford really likes Boston. I'm just wondering how much money they expect him to leave on the table to stay with a somewhat rebuilding team.
If I'm Ainge I wouldn't expect Horford to leave ANY money on the table and probably having to outbid a team like the Clippers who will be contending during his new contracts window. Why would he?
 

lexrageorge

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A starting lineup of Tatum/Brown/Hayward/Rozier/Baynes plus 14/20/22 picks is kissing the margins of the lottery. Trading Brown for a couple of nickels doesn't help the situation in either direction. So, yes, Kryie leaving was bad, but adding Horford to the list of departures is disastrous.
 

sonofgodcf

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The toilet.
If this does happen, I'd love to see the Celtics cash in their picks to see if they can get #2 and draft Morant. I wonder how much Memphis values their own pick...
 

DJnVa

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If this does happen, I'd love to see the Celtics cash in their picks to see if they can get #2 and draft Morant. I wonder how much Memphis values their own pick...
There's no way Memphis does this unless they add Brown or someone. Memphis would have to admit they'll still be bad in 2 years to make that pick anywhere close to the #2 pick.
 

djbayko

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Thought he would stay for sure but Hayward injury/last season obviously just broke shit beyond repair. Sucks but there are still plenty of assets, at least.
This is fun to say, but it didn't have to be this way. We made the ECF last year without Hayward or Kyrie. Having a weirdo for a superstar was a larger issue.
 

DJnVa

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This is fun to say, but it didn't have to be this way. We made the ECF last year without Hayward or Kyrie. Having a weirdo for a superstar was a larger issue.
I think making the ECF without Kyrie was a blow to his ego, causing him to overcompensate this season, causing the friction. Kyrie likely felt he had to reestablish his alpha status.
 

The Social Chair

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I'm guilty of this too, but that ECF appearance was a mirage and Celtics fans bring it up too much. The east was trash in 2017 and 2018.

The east really improved last year. Toronto added Kawhi, Green, and Gasol. Philly added Butler and Harris. The Bucks hired a real coach.