Offseason Thread

[Celtics2021]

Btw, has Al Horford officially signed somewhere?? School started back up for me so admittedly I haven't been keeping up but like, is a reunion still possible lol?

He is reportedly waiting on Golden State to resolve the Kuminga situation.  He is presumably signing using a mid-level exception, which would hard cap Golden State.  The means they need to sign Kuminga first, because if they are hard-capped Brooklyn can come in and sign Kuminga to an offer sheet that takes Golden State over the hard cap.

That said, Al is still a free agent and might be swayable.  As I said in the Boucher/Niang thread, I hope Brad is on the phone to Al and his agent as we type, because the Celtics now have the room to sign Al to a deal greater than the mid-level while staying under the second apron.

[Ilikesports17]

Btw, has Al Horford officially signed somewhere?? School started back up for me so admittedly I haven't been keeping up but like, is a reunion still possible lol?

Nope. Horford hasn't signed with anyone yet.

I do not understand why he hasn't picked a team. If he wants to play. Or why he can't decide if he wants to play another season. It is strange how long this is dragging on.

Haven't heard anything but GSW in a long while also.

Edit: should have read the replies before commenting lol

Sounds like they need to resolve the Kuminga stuff first?

Edit: did not

[Goldstar88]

If San Antonio were committed to winning - to being in win-now mode - they should have traded one of S Castle / D Harper. Put a 3rd star alongside Wemby and D Fox.

They are not in win-now mode with those two. They have too much to learn. They need minutes. They will hold back the team for the immediate future.

Stephon Castle could be that 3rd star this year. He won ROY and has a ton of upside. They also could still trade one of Castle or Harper. Deadline isn?t until late Feb, 2026.

Fox, Vassell, Castle, Barnes, Wemby is a very talented starting lineup. Then they have Harper, Johnson, Champagnie,  Sochan, Olynyk, Kornet off the bench. That?s a deep team. Wemby could be a top 10 player this year. They are win-now.

[Ilikesports17]

If San Antonio were committed to winning - to being in win-now mode - they should have traded one of S Castle / D Harper. Put a 3rd star alongside Wemby and D Fox.

They are not in win-now mode with those two. They have too much to learn. They need minutes. They will hold back the team for the immediate future.

Stephon Castle could be that 3rd star this year. He won ROY and has a ton of upside. They also could still trade one of Castle or Harper. Deadline isn?t until late Feb, 2026.

Fox, Vassell, Castle, Barnes, Wemby is a very talented starting lineup. Then they have Harper, Johnson, Champagnie,  Sochan, Olynyk, Kornet off the bench. That?s a deep team. Wemby could be a top 10 player this year. They are win-now.

Cant win in the NBA today with the lack of shooting they have in that backcourt right now. Especially when Castle and Harper are so young.

The optimistic view of the Fox signing imo is it will be a big contract they can use to bring in a star that actually fits with Wemby/Harper in 2-3 years.

[Phantom255x]

Btw, has Al Horford officially signed somewhere?? School started back up for me so admittedly I haven't been keeping up but like, is a reunion still possible lol?

He is reportedly waiting on Golden State to resolve the Kuminga situation.  He is presumably signing using a mid-level exception, which would hard cap Golden State.  The means they need to sign Kuminga first, because if they are hard-capped Brooklyn can come in and sign Kuminga to an offer sheet that takes Golden State over the hard cap.

That said, Al is still a free agent and might be swayable.  As I said in the Boucher/Niang thread, I hope Brad is on the phone to Al and his agent as we type, because the Celtics now have the room to sign Al to a deal greater than the mid-level while staying under the second apron.

Yeah honestly bringing back Horford would be huge, and idk, maybe get a little crazy and add Simmons too with the minimum. Suddenly the frontcourt isn't garbage

[Vermont Green]

I can't see them spending any money on Horford.  I get the attraction.  Horford has been great on the court and off the court, but it makes no sense for the 2025-26 Celtics team for either party.  This is likely his last season.  He belongs on a playoff team.  I hope it works out for him on GSW.  That makes sense for both parties.

[slightly biased bias fan]

Btw, has Al Horford officially signed somewhere?? School started back up for me so admittedly I haven't been keeping up but like, is a reunion still possible lol?

He is reportedly waiting on Golden State to resolve the Kuminga situation.  He is presumably signing using a mid-level exception, which would hard cap Golden State.  The means they need to sign Kuminga first, because if they are hard-capped Brooklyn can come in and sign Kuminga to an offer sheet that takes Golden State over the hard cap.

That said, Al is still a free agent and might be swayable.  As I said in the Boucher/Niang thread, I hope Brad is on the phone to Al and his agent as we type, because the Celtics now have the room to sign Al to a deal greater than the mid-level while staying under the second apron.

Yeah honestly bringing back Horford would be huge, and idk, maybe get a little crazy and add Simmons too with the minimum. Suddenly the frontcourt isn't garbage

I am 99.9% sure Horford is signing with GSW or retiring. When you are 39 years old, playing without the possibly of contending for a title would seem needless.

[Who]

The Los Angeles Lakers are not able to sign a 15th player to the roster until January 18 due to being hard-capped at the first apron.

The Lakers used their non-taxpayer midlevel exception to sign Deandre Ayton and Jake LaRavia this offseason.

That is a strange situation.

[Birdman]

If Al Horford signs with Warriors:

C?Horford
PF- Green
SF- Butler
SG- Moody
PG-Curry

Bench
Hield
Podziemski
Payton Jr
Jackson

This looks like a 7th-8th seed team with age & u know be lot of load management

[Neurotic Guy]

I can't see them spending any money on Horford.  I get the attraction.  Horford has been great on the court and off the court, but it makes no sense for the 2025-26 Celtics team for either party.  This is likely his last season.  He belongs on a playoff team.  I hope it works out for him on GSW.  That makes sense for both parties.

But the Cs are a playoff team with Al. 

White, Simons, JB, Boucher, Al/Queta (yes, sounds a bit too much like Al Qaeda) is a playoff starting five - and in the East with Tatum back in March - who knows.  Bench would be interesting as is - Garza, Minott, PP, Sam, Baylor.

I don?t think there?s a better chance for a ring with GSW in a pretty stacked West.

[Vermont Green]

I can't see them spending any money on Horford.  I get the attraction.  Horford has been great on the court and off the court, but it makes no sense for the 2025-26 Celtics team for either party.  This is likely his last season.  He belongs on a playoff team.  I hope it works out for him on GSW.  That makes sense for both parties.

But the Cs are a playoff team with Al. 

White, Simons, JB, Boucher, Al/Queta (yes, sounds a bit too much like Al Qaeda) is a playoff starting five - and in the East with Tatum back in March - who knows.  Bench would be interesting as is - Garza, Minott, PP, Sam, Baylor.

I don?t think there?s a better chance for a ring with GSW in a pretty stacked West.

I don't know:

Horford + Curry/Butler
vs.
Horford + Brown/White

Golden State will be a much better team in my view.  They will be old, older with Horford, and there is a lot of risk in that, but I think Horford on GSW is better than Horford on BOS.

I say that based on no Tatum.  If Tatum does return, and plays like pre-injury Tatum, then yes:

Horford + Tatum/Brown

Is probably better than GSW.  It does not seem to me though, that they are building the 2025-26 team with an eye towards Tatum returning.  I see them building with an eye toward 2026-27, when Horford will likely be retired.  If the plan is to get Tatum back and make a legitimate title run, then yes, Horford could be a big part of that.