No way we trade Horford after GH's injury. Why would DA even think about it. It would be like forfeiting the season, which we are only 1 game into. It would also look bad to future FAs we go after.
The best thing we could do is add someone with the injury exception. Not sure who that would be or if they would even target a SF/Wing or not.
On the contrary...at the start of this season, we had legitimate hope of being able to beat or compete with the Cavs over a 7 game ECF series. That meant that although this team was built to peak 2-3 years from now, we still looked like a team that could win a LOT of games now.
After, we still have a very serious chance of finishing with a top 4 seed in the East - but our chance of competing with Cleveland in any way has dropped to just a little above zero. This season pretty much becomes about sitting around and watching the development of Kyrie, Rozier, Tatum, Brown and Smart.
That all means we are now 100% about the future, and it means we will not have an opportunity to compete for a finals appearance until next season - when Horford will be 32 years old and entering the second last year of his contract.
I'm struggling to envision Horford getting re-signed to come back here 3 years from now - by then he'll be 34 and probably wont won't fit with the our young (likely run-and-gun) play style. Seems to make little sense keeping him here for the next 2 years letting our young guys build Chemistry with him only to potentially see him gone by the time everything comes together. May as well move him on to another team for a productive young big-man prospect who can develop and grow with our current young core.
I know this will not be a popular opinion, but you have to look at these things objectively - moving Horford to a good playoff team right now is probably the best move for him and for the Celtics.
Some players who would be young enough to potentially make sense?
- Greg Monroe (27)
- Enes Kanter (25)
- Jonas Valanciunas (25)
- Andre Drummond (24)
- Nerlens Noel (23)
- Steven Adams (24)
- Jusuf Nurkic (23)
- Nikola Vucevic (26)
- Willie Cauley Stein (24)
Needless to say a lot of those guys are players who are significant downgrades from Horford right now, and so additional compensation (picks or additional players) would be expected.
Steven Adams plus picks (for example) could make a lot of sense - adding Horford to that OKC core would instantly make them legit GSW competitors, and they would likely be willing to offer Adams and a ton of draft pick compensation in return. Tatum and Adams could make a phenomenal future frontcourt for us, and additional picks wouldn't hurt at this point either.
Noel plus future Mavs picks could work very nicely. A young, athletic, defensive minded big like Noel could be perfect alongside Tatum and the Mavs are likely to be hot garbage 1-2 years from now. But giving them Horford to pair with Barnes/Dirk might be exactly what the Mavs want in order to give Dirk one or two more years of genuinely competitive basketball before he retires.
Monroe and picks could make some sense - a veteran big like Horford would be exactly what the Bucks need to mentor that strong young core...and if the consolidation price (i.e. accompanying picks) are worthwhile enough, then adding Monroe to our starting 5 could make us a truly elite offensive team by the time Hayward comes back. Monroe is also an excellent passer (not quite as good as Horford, but still excellent) and would instantly fix our rebounding woes.
Jonas Valanciunas would also make sense. The Raptors are in win-now mode with Lowry and Derozan, and Horford is an upgrade right now over Jonas. His unselfish nature makes him a perfect fit for a Toronto team with two scorers who need the ball. A lineup of Lowry, Derozan, Ibaka, Horford would be an immediate threat to the Cavs. Meanwhile Jonas is a 25 year old double-double machine with tremendous upside who would could be the Celtics starting center for the next 8 years.
Not saying this is a move we HAVE to make, but the argument for it certainly is there. Looking at our current roster sans-Hayward, Horford really stands out to me as a square peg in a round hole.