A year ago, we thought Horford’s salary would need to move

[jay]

I seem to remember talk about how would we pay Brown and Tatum? Horford was getting older and we would need to him to go or take a monster discount.

I think the team was wise not to pay him 4 year deal for over $100 million. We pay Brown next year. Soon we will be in a similar position where we won’t be able to keep Gordon Hayward at a high salary because we will need to pay Tatum.

I wonder how bad the payroll would look next summer had Horford stayed and Brown was commanding $25 million plus per year?

I know we are thin up front but I believe a lot of us liked the Yabusele and Time Lord draft selections when they were made. They just haven’t worked out. Yet. 

[ozgod]

I believe it's one thing to move someone. It's another thing if they initiate the move away. The latter feels too much like rejection. 

[jay]

I believe it's one thing to move someone. It's another thing if they initiate the move away. The latter feels too much like rejection. 

Yeah but we let him walk. We could have overpaid. Kind of like Charlotte could have maxed out Kemba. We like Al, but would we like him in two years when he is still owed more than $50 million? I think we did initiate the move away by not paying what he wanted.

[Surferdad]

I believe it's one thing to move someone. It's another thing if they initiate the move away. The latter feels too much like rejection. 

Yeah but we let him walk. We could have overpaid. Kind of like Charlotte could have maxed out Kemba. We like Al, but would we like him in two years when he is still owed more than $50 million? I think we did initiate the move away by not paying what he wanted.

I hope so given that he went to a direct rival team. I’d rather think that Al liked it here, and it was strictly the money issue.

[ozgod]

I believe it's one thing to move someone. It's another thing if they initiate the move away. The latter feels too much like rejection. 

Yeah but we let him walk. We could have overpaid. Kind of like Charlotte could have maxed out Kemba. We like Al, but would we like him in two years when he is still owed more than $50 million? I think we did initiate the move away by not paying what he wanted.

I hope so given that he went to a direct rival team. I’d rather think that Al liked it here, and it was strictly the money issue.

Listening to Early Edition on NBC Sports Boston, they're talking about how the fact that Philly would have Al playing the 4 was also a considerable attraction for him. It's well known he doesn't really like playing the 5, and with Embiid there he probably won't have to too often.

[hpantazo]

It's worth it for Phili to overpay for him, he can be such a huge benefit to Embiid as a mentor. Embiid lacks some of the finer understanding of the game, Horford can certainly give that to him, plus he can give the Sixers our strategies.

Sixers were one bounce away from beating the Raptors and going to the NBA Finals. If overpaying Horford gets them there, it's worth it for them.

Overpaying Horford was not worth it for us. We have a different timeline and there's nothing else Al can teach these younger guys. We need to re-sign Tatum and Brown, can't afford to be paying a close to 40 year old Horford 25 million at that age.

[tazzmaniac]

I believe it's one thing to move someone. It's another thing if they initiate the move away. The latter feels too much like rejection. 

Yeah but we let him walk. We could have overpaid. Kind of like Charlotte could have maxed out Kemba. We like Al, but would we like him in two years when he is still owed more than $50 million? I think we did initiate the move away by not paying what he wanted.

I hope so given that he went to a direct rival team. I’d rather think that Al liked it here, and it was strictly the money issue.

Listening to Early Edition on NBC Sports Boston, they're talking about how the fact that Philly would have Al playing the 4 was also a considerable attraction for him. It's well known he doesn't really like playing the 5, and with Embiid there he probably won't have to too often.

Maybe not in the regular season but once the playoffs come he'll be their backup 5. 

[obnoxiousmime]

The problem is they had a lot of guys making max money that don't make sense if there isn't that final superduper star on the team keeping everybody in line. Horford makes sense at big money because he's not supposed to be a main cog in Philly. In Boston he was the lone star big and he wasn't the type of leader that could control Kyrie. The Celtics often talk about how what Garnett brought to the team wasn't just his on court play, but his leadership. As the unquestioned alpha, he set the tone with his work ethic, competitiveness, and determination. Obviously, this is the opposite of what happened in the locker room last season.

In retrospect we had three max guys who were better off as the 2-4th options of a great team. In addition, Kyrie had a foot out the door, Hayward was recovering from devastating injury, and Horford was always just supposed to be the ultimate glue guy. He just isn't a vocal leader and his game and personality seem very deferential.

Now, in the absence of this kind of player leader, you might think Stevens was supposed to provide that from the coach's position. To this I'd probably say yes and no. Players often say that coaches can only do so much when compared to a strong veteran leader who is keeping people accountable. If Stevens says you better not go out late in Miami when we have a back to back, it isn't as effective a message as when it's coming from a vet star you respect.

I can understand all the moves, they were all justifiable at the time. But from a large picture view, it clearly didn't work from a title-chasing perspective. Davis clearly was the big fish they were hoping for, but if somebody doesn't want to play for you, there's not much you can do. However, as talented as Davis is, the guy is not mature enough to be a leader either. If he had come over and Kyrie had stayed, regardless of the overall talent I'm sure the team would have still disappointed.