He was the second-best free agent on the market at the time to be offered a max contract.
Celtics also needed reliable and experienced bigs that were not Sullinger, Zeller, and Olynyk.
Jeesh. Even more of a definite yes when you consider the caliber of big men we had then. Only one of them is still an NBA player for a reason
looking back and considering how things worked out with KD not signing, it is an intriguing question.
What would you have wanted DA to do in hindsight? I just dunno what other moves he could’ve made that would have appeased the fans
Seeing the list of free agents back in 2016 not named KD/Horford:
Mike Conley, Hassan Whiteside, Dwight Howard, Andre Drummond, Harrison Barnes, Bradley Beal etc. It was also the summer he went with Jaylen Brown (I actually wanted Buddy Hield, but Brown was okay I guess). Honestly, I don't even know what other players Ainge could've went with. They really needed an experienced veteran big that could push this team further than the front-court they had in 2016.
Al Horford was a great signing at the time. His playoff contributions in 16/17 and 17/18 were huge. B2B ECF appearances. He also finally got to beat LeBron James a few times as a Celtics in the postseason. I'm not even upset at the signing tbh. His age is showing right now, but there are some nights where he's still posting 20/10. It would've been a pipe-dream if KD35 joined the Celtics. All the persuasions from IT4, Horford, Danny/Brad, Tom Brady etc.