People Are Seriously Suggesting We Trade Al Horford???

[Geo123]

You all are egregiously undervaluing Horford.

You are right.  This isn't even worth commenting.  Just silly.

[tankcity!]

I like Horford and think he brings value as third player on a Championship team. I would trade IT if I received a top 5 pick in this draft during the offseason. I also don't mind resigning him and building through the draft. I would hope we retain Bradley, Smart, etc. if that were to happen. Otherwise it's not worth keeping IT if you can get a young prospect.

Philly needs a PG. Dallas might take IT. They're always in win now mode.

[fantankerous]

You all are egregiously undervaluing Horford.

Yes.  This is simply more evidence for me that the "knowledgeable Celtic fan" is merely a myth.

[footey]

I like Horford and think he brings value as third player on a Championship team. I would trade IT if I received a top 5 pick in this draft during the offseason. I also don't mind resigning him and building through the draft. I would hope we retain Bradley, Smart, etc. if that were to happen. Otherwise it's not worth keeping IT if you can get a young prospect.

Philly needs a PG. Dallas might take IT. They're always in win now mode.

Wow, I would not even think of trading IT for a top 5 pick in this draft. 

[liam]

You all are egregiously undervaluing Horford.

Yes.  This is simply more evidence for me that the "knowledgeable Celtic fan" is merely a myth.

Must be people who don't watch the games.

[byennie]

He's averaging 15/7/5/2 on 45/35/85 with the best defensive and overall +/- on the team, and we're 24-15 despite missing Crowder for 9 games, Thomas for 5 and Bradley for 4.

He's our leading rebounder easily outside of Bradley's freakish uptick (which is still fewer per minute) on the defensive glass. Same rate as the past few years and rising the last week.

He's shooting 34% from deep as a big man.
He's handing out a career high 5 assists.
He plays team defense and block 2 shots per night.

But hey, he looks slow at times and our rebounding problems are his fault. Meh. The salary cap is high these days, but paying Horford isn't a problem.

[hwangjini_1]

You all are egregiously undervaluing Horford.

very true. i just revisited his stat line against the wiz and it was perfectly fine. what stood out to me is that he contributed in points, rebounds, blocks, steals, and assists.

i think he is the sort of player the CBS likes, capable of doing many things fairly well. i am glad the celtics have him. what would be the celtics' record this year without him?

[alewilliam789]

Despite Horford's immense importance to this team and love of his game, I have to sit here and say that I thought it was a poor decision to sign him to such a large contract in his age and by looking at his decline statistically. He makes us a better team, but the problem is he doesn't make us contenders.

To me his original contract was more of Ainge's way to reach on this team and their potential. Yes we needed a big, but honestly it seemed like it was a stretch. 

Ainge knew if he didn't do anything for a 2nd straight offseason that his seat would start to get hot.

Now we are saddled with a Horford who based on his diminished athleticism and ability to defend, is on the decline, and a team that isn't built for contention and without enough depth to trade what little assets we have for an above average starter/whatever star is on the market and still be contenders.

It was highly short sighted in the big picture of things. You shouldn't just give max contracts to give maxes. I get it in today's FA atmosphere that's what it has come to, but that's how you become the next Portland Trailblazers.

Now we have one option:

Mortgage our future in all of our Brooklyn picks to get a star like Butler or Cousin (that's most likely what it will take) and then have no cap room to get much better and lack the lotto picks that gave us so much room for growth as a team. Even then we still probably wouldn't be contenders in the East and would be perennial ECF rejects.

I'm imagining that a lot of you will say something about FA, but unless Blake Griffin is coming through that door there is no other player that would make us a dramatically better team.

This doesn't discourage me from rooting for him or devaluing his importance to this team because I love the added dimension he brings to this team.

[Monkhouse]

He's averaging 15/7/5/2 on 45/35/85 with the best defensive and overall +/- on the team, and we're 24-15 despite missing Crowder for 9 games, Thomas for 5 and Bradley for 4.

He's our leading rebounder easily outside of Bradley's freakish uptick (which is still fewer per minute) on the defensive glass. Same rate as the past few years and rising the last week.

He's shooting 34% from deep as a big man.
He's handing out a career high 5 assists.
He plays team defense and block 2 shots per night.

But hey, he looks slow at times and our rebounding problems are his fault. Meh. The salary cap is high these days, but paying Horford isn't a problem.

TP.

He's an excellent Jack of Trades/swiss army guy. Unfortunately, he's not the first, or even the second, (although he proves otherwise by literally being the catalyst to the Hawks making it to the playoffs every year,) but he can be a great and perfect 3rd option.

And the thing is, who cares? Did we think that Al Horford would make us an instant contender? No, he's not. He probably won't ever be. But he doesn't have to be, just put Allstars/superstars next to him, and you'll see his worth.

He isn't fantastic at rebounding, and his age is showing, which is a little scary, due to the contract we signed with him. But he's well worth what we're trying to buy into. I still think he's better suited as the PF. He may not have the foot speed to contest shots, but I think we just need a similarly dominant defensive big men to help better. Horford still has great length, and has underrated and undervalued defensive intensity that is a presence on our team.

His numbers aren't going to jump out at you. But what he provides to the Celtics is only replaceable by a better player/superstar, we're definitely not better if we trade Al Hoford. 3-4 years down the road, who knows? We accumulate way too many posts here reminiscing about the past, and I think we've made off with the 2nd best free agent on the market. Crazy, given it was Durant, and how we were trying to use Horford to lure him.

We really just need a big man. Like desperately. No shade to Jordan Mickey, but if he's getting the start, that should tell us something.

[sdceltsfan]

Can the mods just lock this thread for being so unnecessary and ridiculous already? A few posters on here need to turn in their fan cards. Just lame. Have a little more respect for Horford, who like every athlete, is going to deal with a slump here and there. 15 PPG, 7 reb, 5 asst, shooting 46% (not great but not awful) playing out of position?     let's ship em...SMH.

Yeah, let's just trade the first non-trade acquisition, multi-season All-Star we've signed in the past decade (or two???) half way through the 1st season under the contract. I'm sure that will encourage more Free Agents to change the course of their lives to Boston...

[mainevent]

You all are egregiously undervaluing Horford.

This x10000....some of you guys really sound like entitled whiny brats. 3rd place, 4.5 games out of first and you're crying because Horford is having a tough stretch....smh. Get rid of IT because he's too small, forget that he's leading the east in scoring. All of you whining should be cursed with being a Knick fan for the rest of the season.  Bet you'd be here next season with a whole new attitude!

[GRADYCOLNON]

We should not trade Horford.

We should realize that he isn't the player we thought he'd be when we signed him last summer.  Besides the aging, he has added a great benefit to the team, both, offensively and defensively.  I believe a lot of the frustration with Horford is due to the expectations of him as a player from signing a max contract. 

Here are the facts we should now know about him.  He is not a good rebounder.  He is a great high post passer.  He is a good shot blocker.  He is a good defender on the perimeter.  He is an okay post defender.  He is an okay shooter.  He is a great fastbreak player. He is not a closer.

I am beginning to think he epitomizes what it means to be an analytic star.  He posts great numbers some games or some quarters and others not so much.  He is more of mystery bag that allows fate to decide when the stellar play or horrible play will happen.  And it's not to say he is singled out across the league because all players experience this effects but he does seem to have the biggest swings and little middle ground like more consistent players.

Accepting him will only bring us better fortune and less hard ache because we realize that he is not a savior but rather an important player that will contribute to helping win.  I think to win we should focus our attentions on a star player.  Like how we went after Durant (probably why Ainge convinced himself and the front office that signing Horford would be a good decision in the first place)

[mctyson]

It paints the picture you don't get to sign a max contract, come in here, and be the 4th best player.

You do realize that when he was out for 10 games, the team was terrible, right?

[ThaPreacher]

Trade Horford, trade IT, bench Crowder.

I don't get it. I thought that having the Nets picks would satiate the desire to root for ping pong balls, but obviously not.

I don't think the Celtics have anybody who is untradeable.  But I think the right deal would have to come along for Danny to even consider moving IT or Horford. Crowder is and always has been a role player. I think that Celticsblog and fans became enamored with his hustle when he got here in the Rondo trade. He is an asset to Boston. He is a key defender. However, he has to defend and scrap-and share the ball. Otherwise, it wouldn't hurt to decrease his minutes.

Remember, on Celticsblog-anyone is tradeable!  lol

[PAOBoston]

Tommy was right when he said Horford was not a great player last year. He is a very good one. He does everything relatively well on offense and defense and is a good leader. The C's are a much better team with him. Is he a superstar? Nope. But we knew that last year. Just like we knew he wasn't a great rebounder or go to scorer. He's a very good complimentary guy who could be a #3 option on a team.

People are getting caught up with his max salary and confusing him for a player not playing up to expectations. I call it the Joe Johnson effect. All star player who gets mega deal suited more for a superstar than an all star. The big deal was to prove Boston can sign FAs and dispell the myth that FAs don't want to come to Boston, not that Horford was a superstar.

The issue with the C's is that he is legitimately the only good big man on the roster.