al horford a very smooth man

[rollie mass]

big deal its TV money it shouldn't bother anybody season tickets had a burst on horford signing and are sold out
turner was a great teamate and would be sorely missed without signing horford
i think with aggressive permiter defence horford is perfect ,,spread the floor and pick and rolls with isaiah
and horford has that smooth style that could make him long lasting,he dosen't seem to over extend
so he might be durable like turner and pierce-

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

I know people says he said the normal toe the line things but he said something different than what I usually hear guys say. When they asked if he thought we would be contenders he pretty much said no, said Danny has to make some difficult choices and that we would need to add more.

Ask all of the other players and I'm willing to bet they would say his addition makes us contenders, I know they would because they said we were contenders before he was even a blip on our radar!

[walker834]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TuczuMmH-c

This mix is better than the other one i was watching with the really loud obnoxious guy.  Betty when you call me you can call me Al.

[jambr380]

We have been talking for a couple of seasons about how we need to consolidate our roster into more high end players. While we didn't do any consolidation (not a bad thing, we didn't use any of our assets to acquire him), we did add a high end player using only one roster spot. This is much better than say Mozgov and Clarkson combining to take up two roster spots.

Nevermind the fact that he fits our team personality / system like a glove. Four years is nothing and next year's contracts will be even worse. We are very lucky he chose us...because, yes, he had other max-level contract offers. That shows he is definitely a max-level player.

[walker834]

Yeah Horford is definately a max player.  It's still a lot of money though. He's been the Hawks franchise for years. He's somewhat on the low end of that but is still a max player.  I can't think of that many players I can say are franchise guys and Horford fits that mold.

[The One]

And that is why he is married to Miss Universe...

[Smartacus]

Al Horford is a sum of his parts kind of player, no one aspect of his game really overshadows the other as opposed to someone like Isaiah who's scoring ability far outweighs the other facets of his game.

I don't think he's overpaid per se, but it is fair to question where this team's over-the-top output is going to come from. Al will be elite at putting us in positions to win. If you take your eyes off him to a moment he's likely to pop off a nice jumper or throw down at the rim. Its when he's being focused on that might be troubling.

Right now if the other team can contain Horford and bottle up Isaiah it's going to fall on the rest of the team to beat them. We either need to add a piece or one of Crowder/Bradley/Olynyk will need to take a major step forward. Personally I'm hoping that Olynyk takes the confidence of being invited to the Durant meetings and not needing to worry about his playing time now that Sullinger's out and turn into an aggressive 2nd/3rd scorer. Something like 17/7/3 on 56/42/82%, maybe a tad bit unrealistic but IMO he has the tools.

Adding Al is a bit out of order in a rebuild. Idealy we would have already acquired someone like Harden or Lillard and adding Al would be the piece that vaults is into contention. That's not how it's worked out though so let's focus on what we have and work toward making this the most attractive free agency destination possible.

[Snakehead]

He's worth the max, he doesn't provide the same surplus value that LBJ/KD/etc MVP level guys provide but he's comfortably worth the max.

Especially given that its a 4 year deal, all the deals are so short now that giving out the max is so different than the days of the 7 year albatross contracts.

I agree.  I think paying guys near that salary who aren't close to the level is the danger.  I see no issue.  I also predict his scoring and rebounding both go up a couple in our system where he will be relied upon more, vs a pairing with Millsap who is a great rebounder and scorer.  I predict 18 and 9 averages.

[bballdog384]

And that is why he is married to Miss Universe...

Now she's Mrs. Celtic

[Evantime34]

Al Horford is a sum of his parts kind of player, no one aspect of his game really overshadows the other as opposed to someone like Isaiah who's scoring ability far outweighs the other facets of his game.

I don't think he's overpaid per se, but it is fair to question where this team's over-the-top output is going to come from. Al will be elite at putting us in positions to win. If you take your eyes off him to a moment he's likely to pop off a nice jumper or throw down at the rim. Its when he's being focused on that might be troubling.

Right now if the other team can contain Horford and bottle up Isaiah it's going to fall on the rest of the team to beat them. We either need to add a piece or one of Crowder/Bradley/Olynyk will need to take a major step forward. Personally I'm hoping that Olynyk takes the confidence of being invited to the Durant meetings and not needing to worry about his playing time now that Sullinger's out and turn into an aggressive 2nd/3rd scorer. Something like 17/7/3 on 56/42/82%, maybe a tad bit unrealistic but IMO he has the tools.

Adding Al is a bit out of order in a rebuild. Idealy we would have already acquired someone like Harden or Lillard and adding Al would be the piece that vaults is into contention. That's not how it's worked out though so let's focus on what we have and work toward making this the most attractive free agency destination possible.

The over the top skill from Horford comes in the form of defense. We had the 4th best d in the league last year and he's going to improve that. Having the best defense in the NBA will do a lot towards pushing a team over the top.

I predict that Horford will also help our offense a lot (moving us from 10th to the 5-7 range). He might not put up great individual numbers but his passing, screen setting and ability to space the floor will make things easier for everyone with im on the court.

[jambr380]

Al Horford is a sum of his parts kind of player, no one aspect of his game really overshadows the other as opposed to someone like Isaiah who's scoring ability far outweighs the other facets of his game.

I don't think he's overpaid per se, but it is fair to question where this team's over-the-top output is going to come from. Al will be elite at putting us in positions to win. If you take your eyes off him to a moment he's likely to pop off a nice jumper or throw down at the rim. Its when he's being focused on that might be troubling.

Right now if the other team can contain Horford and bottle up Isaiah it's going to fall on the rest of the team to beat them. We either need to add a piece or one of Crowder/Bradley/Olynyk will need to take a major step forward. Personally I'm hoping that Olynyk takes the confidence of being invited to the Durant meetings and not needing to worry about his playing time now that Sullinger's out and turn into an aggressive 2nd/3rd scorer. Something like 17/7/3 on 56/42/82%, maybe a tad bit unrealistic but IMO he has the tools.

Adding Al is a bit out of order in a rebuild. Idealy we would have already acquired someone like Harden or Lillard and adding Al would be the piece that vaults is into contention. That's not how it's worked out though so let's focus on what we have and work toward making this the most attractive free agency destination possible.

I am an Olynyk fan, but I am half hoping he is injured for most of next season since his contract will be up. If he goes on a tear, we are going to be put in a position of paying him $20M+/yr and that is not where we need our money tied up.

If he goes off for like 22/10/5 and shows that he is a future star, then wonderful. Otherwise we will likely lose a decent asset for nothing.

[kozlodoev]

If he goes off for like 22/10/5 and shows that he is a future star, then wonderful. Otherwise we will likely lose a decent asset for nothing.

I don't think a guy who shoots a layup like 10-year old can average 22 in the NBA, but that's just me.

[jambr380]

If he goes off for like 22/10/5 and shows that he is a future star, then wonderful. Otherwise we will likely lose a decent asset for nothing.

I don't think a guy who shoots a layup like 10-year old can average 22 in the NBA, but that's just me.

What happened to the bounce being real?? 

[guava_wrench]

Al Horford is a sum of his parts kind of player, no one aspect of his game really overshadows the other as opposed to someone like Isaiah who's scoring ability far outweighs the other facets of his game.

I don't think he's overpaid per se, but it is fair to question where this team's over-the-top output is going to come from. Al will be elite at putting us in positions to win. If you take your eyes off him to a moment he's likely to pop off a nice jumper or throw down at the rim. Its when he's being focused on that might be troubling.

Right now if the other team can contain Horford and bottle up Isaiah it's going to fall on the rest of the team to beat them. We either need to add a piece or one of Crowder/Bradley/Olynyk will need to take a major step forward. Personally I'm hoping that Olynyk takes the confidence of being invited to the Durant meetings and not needing to worry about his playing time now that Sullinger's out and turn into an aggressive 2nd/3rd scorer. Something like 17/7/3 on 56/42/82%, maybe a tad bit unrealistic but IMO he has the tools.

Adding Al is a bit out of order in a rebuild. Idealy we would have already acquired someone like Harden or Lillard and adding Al would be the piece that vaults is into contention. That's not how it's worked out though so let's focus on what we have and work toward making this the most attractive free agency destination possible.

It is a 4 year contract. We are already a playoff team. You need to add guys when you can at this point. If we didn't commit money to Horford, we would be forced to commit multiple years to Sully.

We also cannot judge this years contracts yet because the cap will go up a lot again next season before we return to the more normal slow rise. That jump next season will make many of this year's contracts seem a lot more reasonable than they did previously. GMs already know this, as do agents, so that is part of the reason why we see some absurd looking contracts.

[alldaboston]

I think you will see a spike in his offensive out put with Brad.  I bet he is in the 17 to 18 pts a game with 7-9 rebounds...

Maybe. But we say "with Brad"  as if there is no coach in Atlanta. Budenholzer is a great coach over there too.