Could Horford end up being the worst contract of offseason?

[jambr380]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford is after every good game he has? We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

[celticsclay]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford after every good game he has. We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

Thank you. I agree with this one hundred percent. It is extremely lame to bump this thread when he has a good game especially when everyone has agreed he would be good the first year. I didn’t think about bumping it when he had his 5 point game. I also thought repeatedly bumping an old thread to try and say I told you so was against the forum rules but it is a mod doing it, so not sure what it up with that.

[KGs Knee]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford after every good game he has. We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

Thank you. I agree with this one hundred percent. It is extremely lame to bump this thread when he has a good game especially when everyone has agreed he would be good the first year. I didn’t think about bumping it when he had his 5 point game. I also thought repeatedly bumping an old thread to try and say I told you so was against the forum rules but it is a mod doing it, so not sure what it up with that.

Last night was further proof of why Horford was brought in by the Sixers.  They almost assuredly do not win that game without his presence.  I'll admit, the playoffs will be the real litmus test of whether or not Horford was worth it, but every win they get they otherwise wouldn't have helps the Sixers in their quest towards greater playoff success.  The Sixers look like the early favorite to be the top seed in the East.  Part of that is because they will be able to sustain the inevitable games missed by Embiid.

Maybe don't start a thread if you're not prepared to deal with others demonstrating to you why the premise in the OP might be wrong.

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.  I suppose we could all just stop talking about it altogether since nothing is going to be settled any time soon.....

[tazzmaniac]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford after every good game he has. We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

Thank you. I agree with this one hundred percent. It is extremely lame to bump this thread when he has a good game especially when everyone has agreed he would be good the first year. I didn’t think about bumping it when he had his 5 point game. I also thought repeatedly bumping an old thread to try and say I told you so was against the forum rules but it is a mod doing it, so not sure what it up with that.

Last night was further proof of why Horford was brought in by the Sixers.  They almost assuredly do not win that game without his presence.  I'll admit, the playoffs will be the real litmus test of whether or not Horford was worth it, but every win they get they otherwise wouldn't have helps the Sixers in their quest towards greater playoff success.  The Sixers look like the early favorite to be the top seed in the East.  Part of that is because they will be able to sustain the inevitable games missed by Embiid.

Maybe don't start a thread if you're not prepared to deal with others demonstrating to you why the premise in the OP might be wrong.

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.  I suppose we could all just stop talking about it altogether since nothing is going to be settled any time soon.....

Ouch!! That earned a TP from me.  14 pages of mostly sour grapes. 

[RPGenerate]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford after every good game he has. We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

Thank you. I agree with this one hundred percent. It is extremely lame to bump this thread when he has a good game especially when everyone has agreed he would be good the first year. I didn’t think about bumping it when he had his 5 point game. I also thought repeatedly bumping an old thread to try and say I told you so was against the forum rules but it is a mod doing it, so not sure what it up with that.

Last night was further proof of why Horford was brought in by the Sixers.  They almost assuredly do not win that game without his presence.  I'll admit, the playoffs will be the real litmus test of whether or not Horford was worth it, but every win they get they otherwise wouldn't have helps the Sixers in their quest towards greater playoff success.  The Sixers look like the early favorite to be the top seed in the East.  Part of that is because they will be able to sustain the inevitable games missed by Embiid.

Maybe don't start a thread if you're not prepared to deal with others demonstrating to you why the premise in the OP might be wrong.

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.  I suppose we could all just stop talking about it altogether since nothing is going to be settled any time soon.....

Ouch!! That earned a TP from me.  14 pages of mostly sour grapes.

If you love it so much, there are plenty of 76ers blogs out there that slobber over there players. You should try those.

[Roy H.]

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.

Yes, exactly. If the Sixers win a title in the next two seasons, the contract will be a bargain regardless of what happens in years three and four.

[celticsclay]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford after every good game he has. We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

Thank you. I agree with this one hundred percent. It is extremely lame to bump this thread when he has a good game especially when everyone has agreed he would be good the first year. I didn’t think about bumping it when he had his 5 point game. I also thought repeatedly bumping an old thread to try and say I told you so was against the forum rules but it is a mod doing it, so not sure what it up with that.

Last night was further proof of why Horford was brought in by the Sixers.  They almost assuredly do not win that game without his presence.  I'll admit, the playoffs will be the real litmus test of whether or not Horford was worth it, but every win they get they otherwise wouldn't have helps the Sixers in their quest towards greater playoff success.  The Sixers look like the early favorite to be the top seed in the East.  Part of that is because they will be able to sustain the inevitable games missed by Embiid.

Maybe don't start a thread if you're not prepared to deal with others demonstrating to you why the premise in the OP might be wrong.

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.  I suppose we could all just stop talking about it altogether since nothing is going to be settled any time soon.....

Ouch!! That earned a TP from me.  14 pages of mostly sour grapes.

If you love it so much, there are plenty of 76ers blogs out there that slobber over there players. You should try those.

Thanks tp. I’m fine admitting it was a fine contract of they win the title. What I think is ridiculous is the constant chest pumping over a win in November. Like I said I also think it is petty and against the spirits of the forum to constantly be bumping a thread. If everyone was doing this the board would be a complete a mess. I have been trying to keep a level of decorum on here, but if people want this kind of behavior I’ll be happy to bump it next time he has a 5 point game in November cause that apparently means something to people.

In the meantime I’m going to be enjoying our celtics having the second best record in the league and not sticking out my chest in celebration of an ex player of ours having a good game to help our rivals win on a Celtics a forum.

[celticsclay]

 

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.

Yes, exactly. If the Sixers win a title in the next two seasons, the contract will be a bargain regardless of what happens in years three and four.

I totally agree with this roy, them winning a title would make it a bargain. It could still also be an albatross. That’s not decided whether he has a 5 or 22 point game in November of year 1.

[celticsclay]

Are we really going to talk about how awesome Horford after every good game he has. We all knew he would likely earn his contract this year - it was the future years that were a concern. Also, he is still his inconsistent self as he recently put up a 5 point game.

I loved what Horford brought to the Cs and would have been happy to have him back at a reasonable price, but that wasn't happening. We have already seen us use those dollars for the future with Brown. Who knows if we would have been able to pay him if Horford were signed on for 4 more years. I also don't think we have had the proper chance to see what Kanter will bring to this club - for like 20% of the price of Horford.

On a related note (in several posts above), I maintain that Butler is a player more teams would rather pay big money to over Horford. I am not sure why this is even a debate. He is a two-way star wing in his prime. We literally just gave Jaylen similar money to Al in hopes that he one day turns into a player like Butler.

Thank you. I agree with this one hundred percent. It is extremely lame to bump this thread when he has a good game especially when everyone has agreed he would be good the first year. I didn’t think about bumping it when he had his 5 point game. I also thought repeatedly bumping an old thread to try and say I told you so was against the forum rules but it is a mod doing it, so not sure what it up with that.

Last night was further proof of why Horford was brought in by the Sixers.  They almost assuredly do not win that game without his presence.  I'll admit, the playoffs will be the real litmus test of whether or not Horford was worth it, but every win they get they otherwise wouldn't have helps the Sixers in their quest towards greater playoff success.  The Sixers look like the early favorite to be the top seed in the East.  Part of that is because they will be able to sustain the inevitable games missed by Embiid.

Maybe don't start a thread if you're not prepared to deal with others demonstrating to you why the premise in the OP might be wrong.

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.  I suppose we could all just stop talking about it altogether since nothing is going to be settled any time soon.....

Yea l mean that would be pretty logical kg. As you say, at a minimum it is not going to matter till the playoffs, so repeatedly bumping a thread over October and November games is pretty foolish. I’m being consistent on this, I didn’t bump the thread when he had a crap game a few days ago and they almost got upset by the hawks (thAt was also meaningless in deciding if his contract was bad) If they make the finals or win the title I’ll be the first person to admit it was not a bad contract. I would like to see a thread like this rise above the pettiness of repeated bumping over game 5 of a 320 game contract, but that doesn’t look like the direction a few vocal people want to head.

[jambr380]

Yea l mean that would be pretty logical kg. As you say, at a minimum it is not going to matter till the playoffs, so repeatedly bumping a thread over October and November games is pretty foolish. I’m being consistent on this, I didn’t bump the thread when he had a crap game a few days ago and they almost got upset by the hawks (thAt was also meaningless in deciding if his contract was bad) If they make the finals or win the title I’ll be the first person to admit it was not a bad contract. I would like to see a thread like this rise above the pettiness of repeated bumping over game 5 of a 320 game contract, but that doesn’t look like the direction a few vocal people want to head.

Oh, I definitely think they need to win the Finals for it to be worth it. Simply making it doesn't count and it in fact gets Horford's last year up to almost $20M. The fact is, they were going to be really good this year regardless of whether or not they had Al. In fact, that $28M they are paying this season could have been allocated to another Max level FA. If the East stays this way, I think it will be considered an utter disappointment if they don't make the Finals at least once.

Al has been one of the luckiest players in terms of contracts that I can think of. He signed a max with us the first year of the cap spike and somehow was able to land another near max at the age of 33 - despite not playing at an All-Star level for years. Contrast that with a player like IT4 who was easily better than Al at his peak and yet is scrounging around for the minimum these days - never having landed a big contract.

Al is a very good player and he certainly helps teams win, but so do other $28M/yr players. Let's just hope that the Cs can help prevent 'Average Al' from reaching his ultimate goal.

[tazzmaniac]

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.

Yes, exactly. If the Sixers win a title in the next two seasons, the contract will be a bargain regardless of what happens in years three and four.

I totally agree with this roy, them winning a title could make it a bargain. It could still also be an albatross. That’s not decided whether he has a 5 or 22 point game in November of year 1.

Sixers signing Butler to a 5 year Max contract may well have been an even bigger albatross.  Paying him nearly 40M in those 4th/5th years when he will be 34/35 would have been a big concern.  Having to deal with Butler's prickly personality for 5 years would have been a concern.  They would have most likely lost Redick anyway so they would have had a whole at starting SG in addition to the whole at backup C.  The biggest issue is Butler did not fit well with Simmons and to a lesser extent Harris. 

Could Horford's contract end up being the worst?  Yes.  So could Butler's.  So could several other players who were signed to big contracts.  Waiting until the future to look back in hindsight to judge is pretty meaningless.  Decisions have to be made in the here and now. 

Folks on here supporting the decision are saying it makes sense for the Sixers given their situation.  May be it works out.  May be it doesn't.  Maybe Horford plays well for the whole contract but due to Embiid not being healthy for the playoffs or Simmons not ever shooting jumpers they don't win a championship.  Maybe the Clippers turn out to be the next GSW and nothing they could have realistically done would get them a championship. 
Winning championships and even making the finals is hard and requires a good bit of luck even if you make good decisions. 

So if you're saying their decision to sign Horford to that contract was a bad decision why don't you let us know what you think they should have and could have realistically done instead that would have been better. 

[celticsclay]

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.

Yes, exactly. If the Sixers win a title in the next two seasons, the contract will be a bargain regardless of what happens in years three and four.

I totally agree with this roy, them winning a title could make it a bargain. It could still also be an albatross. That’s not decided whether he has a 5 or 22 point game in November of year 1.

Sixers signing Butler to a 5 year Max contract may well have been an even bigger albatross.  Paying him nearly 40M in those 4th/5th years when he will be 34/35 would have been a big concern.  Having to deal with Butler's prickly personality for 5 years would have been a concern.  They would have most likely lost Redick anyway so they would have had a whole at starting SG in addition to the whole at backup C.  The biggest issue is Butler did not fit well with Simmons and to a lesser extent Harris. 

Could Horford's contract end up being the worst?  Yes.  So could Butler's.  So could several other players who were signed to big contracts.  Waiting until the future to look back in hindsight to judge is pretty meaningless.  Decisions have to be made in the here and now. 

Folks on here supporting the decision are saying it makes sense for the Sixers given their situation.  May be it works out.  May be it doesn't.  Maybe Horford plays well for the whole contract but due to Embiid not being healthy for the playoffs or Simmons not ever shooting jumpers they don't win a championship.  Maybe the Clippers turn out to be the next GSW and nothing they could have realistically done would get them a championship. 
Winning championships and even making the finals is hard and requires a good bit of luck even if you make good decisions. 

So if you're saying their decision to sign Horford to that contract was a bad decision why don't you let us know what you think they should have and could have realistically done instead that would have been better.

I honestly think they should have kept butler. I think they would have the championship with him this year. He also takes incredible care of his body and has a reputation of being extremely hard working so I am more confident in him at 34 than Horford at 37. Also, embiid really liked butler and has said he missed him this season.

[tazzmaniac]

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.

Yes, exactly. If the Sixers win a title in the next two seasons, the contract will be a bargain regardless of what happens in years three and four.

I totally agree with this roy, them winning a title could make it a bargain. It could still also be an albatross. That’s not decided whether he has a 5 or 22 point game in November of year 1.

Sixers signing Butler to a 5 year Max contract may well have been an even bigger albatross.  Paying him nearly 40M in those 4th/5th years when he will be 34/35 would have been a big concern.  Having to deal with Butler's prickly personality for 5 years would have been a concern.  They would have most likely lost Redick anyway so they would have had a whole at starting SG in addition to the whole at backup C.  The biggest issue is Butler did not fit well with Simmons and to a lesser extent Harris. 

Could Horford's contract end up being the worst?  Yes.  So could Butler's.  So could several other players who were signed to big contracts.  Waiting until the future to look back in hindsight to judge is pretty meaningless.  Decisions have to be made in the here and now. 

Folks on here supporting the decision are saying it makes sense for the Sixers given their situation.  May be it works out.  May be it doesn't.  Maybe Horford plays well for the whole contract but due to Embiid not being healthy for the playoffs or Simmons not ever shooting jumpers they don't win a championship.  Maybe the Clippers turn out to be the next GSW and nothing they could have realistically done would get them a championship. 
Winning championships and even making the finals is hard and requires a good bit of luck even if you make good decisions. 

So if you're saying their decision to sign Horford to that contract was a bad decision why don't you let us know what you think they should have and could have realistically done instead that would have been better.

I honestly think they should have kept butler. I think they would have the championship with him this year. He also takes incredible care of his body and has a reputation of being extremely hard working so I am more confident in him at 34 than Horford at 37. Also, embiid really liked butler and has said he missed him this season.

Horford turned 33 in June so the 4th year of the contract will be his age 36 season.  If he's actually playing for the Sixers when he turns 37, they would be in the championship finals in the 4th year of his contract which would most likely make his contract a rip roaring success.   Butler is already beginning to show his age.  He coasted on defense for much of last regular season which is a big reason why they were mid pack in team defense.  He's also only played 70+ games twice in his career. 

Considering the Clips got Kawhi and PG-13 I don't see how re-signing Butler would have made the Sixers championship favorites.  I think the Butler option would have given them less chance at a championship this season and would have had a much bigger albatross potential.  The hole at SG due to loss of Redick.  Poor fit with Simmons and Harris.  I'm not sure Harris would have re-signed with the Sixers if Butler did.  Embiid does appear to like Butler and probably wanted him back but I certainly don't think Simmons wanted Butler back.  If they had gone the Butler option, I think they would have needed to trade Simmons sooner rather than later. 

[celticsclay]

You keep insisting this year doesn't matter, but some of us are telling you the later years of this contract might very well be inconsequential.  Ultimately we won't know for a while where on that spectrum the truth lies.

Yes, exactly. If the Sixers win a title in the next two seasons, the contract will be a bargain regardless of what happens in years three and four.

I totally agree with this roy, them winning a title could make it a bargain. It could still also be an albatross. That’s not decided whether he has a 5 or 22 point game in November of year 1.

Sixers signing Butler to a 5 year Max contract may well have been an even bigger albatross.  Paying him nearly 40M in those 4th/5th years when he will be 34/35 would have been a big concern.  Having to deal with Butler's prickly personality for 5 years would have been a concern.  They would have most likely lost Redick anyway so they would have had a whole at starting SG in addition to the whole at backup C.  The biggest issue is Butler did not fit well with Simmons and to a lesser extent Harris. 

Could Horford's contract end up being the worst?  Yes.  So could Butler's.  So could several other players who were signed to big contracts.  Waiting until the future to look back in hindsight to judge is pretty meaningless.  Decisions have to be made in the here and now. 

Folks on here supporting the decision are saying it makes sense for the Sixers given their situation.  May be it works out.  May be it doesn't.  Maybe Horford plays well for the whole contract but due to Embiid not being healthy for the playoffs or Simmons not ever shooting jumpers they don't win a championship.  Maybe the Clippers turn out to be the next GSW and nothing they could have realistically done would get them a championship. 
Winning championships and even making the finals is hard and requires a good bit of luck even if you make good decisions. 

So if you're saying their decision to sign Horford to that contract was a bad decision why don't you let us know what you think they should have and could have realistically done instead that would have been better.

I honestly think they should have kept butler. I think they would have the championship with him this year. He also takes incredible care of his body and has a reputation of being extremely hard working so I am more confident in him at 34 than Horford at 37. Also, embiid really liked butler and has said he missed him this season.

Horford turned 33 in June so the 4th year of the contract will be his age 36 season.  If he's actually playing for the Sixers when he turns 37, they would be in the championship finals in the 4th year of his contract which would most likely make his contract a rip roaring success.   Butler is already beginning to show his age.  He coasted on defense for much of last regular season which is a big reason why they were mid pack in team defense.  He's also only played 70+ games twice in his career. 

Considering the Clips got Kawhi and PG-13 I don't see how re-signing Butler would have made the Sixers championship favorites.  I think the Butler option would have given them less chance at a championship this season and would have had a much bigger albatross potential.  The hole at SG due to loss of Redick.  Poor fit with Simmons and Harris.  I'm not sure Harris would have re-signed with the Sixers if Butler did.  Embiid does appear to like Butler and probably wanted him back but I certainly don't think Simmons wanted Butler back.  If they had gone the Butler option, I think they would have needed to trade Simmons sooner rather than later.

Splitting hairs on Horford’s age aside, I just disagree with you. I think butler is huge in the playoffs down the stretch cause he can do everything. It is fine to agree to disagree though. You are not going to be able to convince me otherwise and I don’t think I can convince you otherwise either

[tazzmaniac]

Yea l mean that would be pretty logical kg. As you say, at a minimum it is not going to matter till the playoffs, so repeatedly bumping a thread over October and November games is pretty foolish. I’m being consistent on this, I didn’t bump the thread when he had a crap game a few days ago and they almost got upset by the hawks (thAt was also meaningless in deciding if his contract was bad) If they make the finals or win the title I’ll be the first person to admit it was not a bad contract. I would like to see a thread like this rise above the pettiness of repeated bumping over game 5 of a 320 game contract, but that doesn’t look like the direction a few vocal people want to head.

Oh, I definitely think they need to win the Finals for it to be worth it. Simply making it doesn't count and it in fact gets Horford's last year up to almost $20M. The fact is, they were going to be really good this year regardless of whether or not they had Al. In fact, that $28M they are paying this season could have been allocated to another Max level FA. If the East stays this way, I think it will be considered an utter disappointment if they don't make the Finals at least once.

Al has been one of the luckiest players in terms of contracts that I can think of. He signed a max with us the first year of the cap spike and somehow was able to land another near max at the age of 33 - despite not playing at an All-Star level for years. Contrast that with a player like IT4 who was easily better than Al at his peak and yet is scrounging around for the minimum these days - never having landed a big contract.

Al is a very good player and he certainly helps teams win, but so do other $28M/yr players. Let's just hope that the Cs can help prevent 'Average Al' from reaching his ultimate goal.

Ah yes the championship or else bust nonsense.  If you're going that route, then any big signing they made was a championship or else bust move.  Re-signing Butler to a 5yr max contract would have been a much more championship or bust move.  Who are these free agents that the Sixers could have had besides Horford?  Please, please don't say D'Angelo Russell.