🚨MAJOR Al Horford Free Agency UPDATE via NBA Insiders | Celtics Rumors

🚨MAJOR Al Horford Free Agency UPDATE via NBA Insiders | Celtics Rumors

Celtics fans, things are not looking good for Al Horford resigning with your Boston Celtics. So, I need you guys to manifest the good vibes right now. Go down below and hit that thumbs up icon. Like today’s video if you want Big Al to stay in Beantown. [Music] What’s going on, Green Teamers? You’re watching Celtics Today by Chat Sports. I am your host Tyler Smith and we I was watching the NBA free agency coverage last night on ESPN and Bobby Marks had said this when he was going over the Celtics additions and losses through the first couple weeks of the NBA offseason and he said when he was kind of going through the table he pointed to Al Horford’s name and he said the Celtics are quote going to lose Al Horford in free agency and this isn’t the biggest surprise in the world but it is disheartening to you know see Al Horford go and not not not personal by any means I want to see him contend for a championship in The Celtics don’t look to be in that spot next season. So, he’s being looked at by a ton of contenders around the NBA. And we’ve heard in the hours leading up into free agency when it started on Monday that the Golden State Warriors are actually a hotbed for Horford at this point. Anthony Slater, the biggest Warriors insider out there, said that many in the league continued to link Al Horford to the Warriors as a preferred target. So, it looks like Golden State’s going allin on Big Al. And I think he would fit phenomenally in that Warriors system personally, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s guaranteed to end up in the Bay Area because there are other teams looking to make moves and potentially bring Horford in. Michael Scott of Hoopsite listed these four teams as also some contenders around the league looking to add a guy like Horford. Now, the New York Knicks were on this list, but they did just sign Gershon Yabisellle to the non-t taxpayer or to the taxpayer mid-level exception. So, I’m not so sure if he’ll um if he’ll exactly be able to go to the New York Knicks with the cap situation that they have. So, maybe you take them off of this list. But then you look at the Denver Nuggets where they just brought in Jonas Valenunis as well via trade. So, are they looking to add another center here or maybe run Horford at the four off the bench? I’m not so sure that that would be uh you know the case either. Then you look at the Cleveland Cavs with their front court rotation of Jared Allen and and Evan Mobley. They do need kind of need that backup guy uh to kind of run the backup four and five over there in Cleveland. So watch out for them as a darkhorse candidate to obtain Horford. And then the LA Lakers, they’re still without a center. Um people are speculating that DeAndre Aton will be end up with the uh LA Lakers once he clears waiverss on Wednesday. So we’ll see if that ends up happening, but you know these these names these teams uh there at the bottom are definitely uh teams to watch in the pursuit of Horford. Then in that conversation later on, Mark J. Beers said this on ESPN about Al Horford, saying he’s taking his time. There’s no signing just yet and that there’s four three to four teams. I know that there’s been a lot of speculation about Golden State, but we’ll wait to see if the three-point shot gets to Chase. Okay, it would be a great fit if he were to end up with the Warriors, but I think it would be a great fit anywhere to be honest. Al Horford is a plugandplay player, and it’s really sad to see him kind of be on his way out. I know he’s 39 and I know, you know, he he should prioritize winning at this point in his career all even though he already got the title in 2024 with Boston. Like this is a guy who wants to cement a Hall of Fame career here and if he gets another ring and he’s a real contributor, you know, that conversation is only going to get hotter on Al Horford getting to Springfield, Massachusetts. So, I I I understand the the idea of him wanting to go out there and he’s a guy who’s still playing at an elite level. I know that he could get a ton of playing time with the Celtics this this season if you know looking at their front court rotation. We’ll talk about in just a little bit. But, you know, this is a guy who I probably would assume wants to play in the realm of 15 to 25 minutes a night on any given game in the regular season and then, you know, ramp up the production when when needed in the playoffs. Like, he’s still shooting 40% from three-point range in the postseason this past year. Um, he’s been basically doing that each of the past four seasons. And like these are numbers that, you know, you don’t exactly need to, you know, be your starter at this point anymore. And I don’t think Al Horford wants that responsibility in a year that he’s going to try to ring chase. So I I think he looks like he’s on his way out at this point. It’s unfortunate, but the financial constraints the Celtics have, they can’t give him a $10 million deal. And when you look at guys around the league like a Brook Lopez or even a Cavon Looney who got $8 million a year and Brooke got $9 million a year. There’s just no reason that Al Horford should not be getting that type of money if not more at this point. I think he’s a much more switchable and mobile defender than those two. Uh I think he hits three-point shot just as consistently as Brook Lopez does. And obviously we know Kavan Looney is not really a stretch big. So I think Al Horford is probably the best center left on the free agent market in my opinion. You could argue DeAndre Aton, but the veteran leadership is is favors Al Horford here. He’s a championship winner. And I I I’m really sad to see him leave Boston at this point because that’s what all signs point to is he’s trying to contend next season. And the early offseason rumors that we heard on in in in the Twitter streets and all that stuff signaled that Horford would be on his way out because he wants to play and wants to contend next season. Doesn’t look like the Celtics are going to be able to do that. Do you predict for me down in the comments section, where does Al Horford sign in NBA free agency? Is it with the Dubs? Is it with Cleveland? Is it with a team like the Lakers if they end up striking out on DeAndre Aton? You let me know where you think Big Al heads in this off seasonason as it probably will not be with the Boston Celtics. But hey, if you’re optimistic, let me know if you guys think he comes back to the seas down in the comments section. I’d say he ends up with the Golden State Warriors. Look, they are a team that absolutely needs a center and they’re they’re going to be leaning in a little bit more to the secondyear player Quinton Post. they took in the second round last year in the NBA draft who’s a stretch big and Horford’s a player who can not only mentor him on the offensive end, but on the defensive end where he needs to uh pick up his game a lot as well. So, my prediction would be that Horford does end up in Golden State. If it’s today, if it’s tomorrow, only time will tell, but I think it’s a really really great fit in that system. And I know he’s not a West Coast guy, but that’s an opportunity for him to contend in in this league. play next to Steph, play next to Jimmy and and you know what? You really see a nice, you know, sort of back end or, you know, home stretch of his NBA career. But then we got to switch gears and look at the Celtics because they’re in a bad spot now. I I can’t lie to you guys. Uh this is not exactly an inspiring front court to be looking at here. Luca Garza was signed to a two-year deal. And could he be not in a way the player that Luke Cornett is, but could he be that mold? Can he be a capable passer out of the high post in the short role, hit open shooters on the perimeter and just be an overall high IQ player? Could he also get a version of like a Kelly Lin type that we saw? I I think that’s honestly, you know, the archetype that that Garza favors here. Score down in the low post, good at getting position on on defenders on the low block and can also hit the outside shot and step it out as well. So, I’m I’m interested to see Luca Garza in an expanded role next year. But then you look down the line and like you got Neimius Ko who I’m not so sure is an NBA big. Xavier Tilman who I’m not so sure at this point is an NBA player let alone a center in this league. He’s like 67. And then Amari Williams who I have high hopes for but is a second round a late second round pick. So who knows if he’s going to be contributor in year one. I think he’s probably you know the best hybrid passer and rim protector rebounder out of this crop. We’ll see if he ends up getting a shot. I’m going to be watching the summer league. No doubt looking at Amari Williams. And then uh Keith Smith brought this up as well because we’re going to kind of transition into where the Celtics go from here. Um he’s adding Luca Garza brings Boston to about $2 million from the second apron with one open roster spot. So that means that more moves are coming for the Celtics. That does that does not mean uh just signing one more player. That probably means more trades are coming at this point. So it’s going to be interesting to see who ends up getting moved. Um it doesn’t look like that’s going to be Derrick White or Jaylen Brown anymore. Um, but there’s probably going to be some players around the margins that that Brad Stevens looks to move off of in order to maybe get under the luxury tax entirely. We’ll talk about that in just a moment. Make sure you guys get hooked up and reminisce on the good times back in 2024 where the Celtics lifted the Larry and get this Celtics championship t-shirt with the caricatures of all the all the players on there. Holiday Porzingis, they’re not they’re not in boss Boston anymore, but you know, you guys can get this commemorative 2024 Celtics t-shirt that is only $17 by the way. Like that is an absolute steal. It was nearly 40 bucks. Now you’re getting it for less than half of that. So go get take advantage of this deal at this link right here. chatports.com/champ sale. That’s chatsports.com/champs sale. I put that in the comment section and the description of today’s video. So go down below, click that link. Fanatics gives us a little bit of a pro of the proceeds when you guys use our link. So go get yourself hooked up with a chat a Celtics championship t-shirt for the low chatports.com/champs sale. Okay. As far as what the Celtics are going to do here moving forward this off seasonason and into this next 202526 campaign, I might be I might be committing to team tank. I might be committing to team tank for the Boston Celtics in 2025 2026. It doesn’t look good. front court like I whether or not you have or whether you have Jaylen Brown at or that level of player on your roster and another player like Derek White on your roster or not, you are going to get killed on the inside on the glass uh defensively. Uh it is a total mismatch for Boston. So I’m I’m curious to see what type of um depth they add in the front court in in in the weeks and and months to come. But it’s not looking great right now. And that kind of just tells me that they’re not looking to contend at all in the Eastern Conference next year. And they’re probably still looking to move off of more money. Now, what does that mean? Because they have a Jaylen Brown at a 50 million, $60 million plus dollar a year contract, Derek White at 30 million. You’re not trading either one of those guys. You’re also not trading Peyton Pritchard either at his $7 million a season or $8 million a year, whatever it is. Like those are such good of value contracts or in Brown’s case, like too expensive to really think about trading at this point. So, how do you move off some money? Well, a hot name that’s been talked about, you know, leading up to this offseason is obviously Sam Hower. But then that we heard leading up to free agency from Celtics insider Jay King that he said the Caesar said to be more focused on avenues that would allow them to f to hold on to Sam Hower for the foreseeable future. So it doesn’t look like Hower’s being moved even though, you know, when the season when the offseason began, his $10 million a year contract ended up costing 80 million when it comes to the luxury tax penalties that Boston was set to face. But they’re trying to get out of the tax right now and avoid those repeater penalties. So in keeping Hower looks like more names might be on the move, but this that means that he’s a part of the core now for the foreseeable future. He’s entering the first year of a or maybe this is the second year of the the four-year $45 million contract. So now that means that Brad Stevens is probably committing to him at this point. He’s committing to Payton Pritchard. He’s committing to Jaylen Brown, Derek White, the names I said before, and obviously Jason Tatum. This looks like it what’s going to be the core for 2026, 2027 and beyond. And look, I love this. Like, it it is fantastic, but you know, you got a point guard, you got a shooting guard, you got a small forward, you got a four, have a five, and you have a swingman off of the bench. Like, it’s good, but there obviously needs to be a lot more added to this group. Hopefully, there’s more financial flexibility when it that, you know, that’s all being pieced together. And then, you know, we look at what they can do right now to clear up some more money. So, that is the, you know, a possibility later next summer. Do we trade Anthony Simons? Like there have been reports from Jay King and from other insiders around the league that the seas could look to just move off of Simons before he ends up wearing green at all uh in 26 or 256. It do I would I love that? I don’t know. I mean he’s 26 years old. He’s on an expiring contract. So I I don’t know. I maybe I would like to see him play in a winning environment for a little bit uh in Boston and he fits the you know kind of mold that the Celtics like running and gun get up a lot of threes. Like I think he would fit really nicely next to Jason Tatum, but that would obviously come after an a contract extension. So could they look to move off of his $27 million expiring contract now? Maybe clear up something like $7 million, get a guy like Nicola Vousvich who’s on a $20 million expiring contract and and and you look at getting a little bit more relief that way. And then if you want to get under the luxury tax entirely, which they’re about $15 million away from, maybe a little bit more now after the Luca Garza signing, that they would they would probably have to trade George Nyang as well. And keep in mind, the Celtics cannot aggregate either one of these deals as as they were recently traded. You cannot um piece them together for some big superstar or, you know, a player that makes, you know, $30 million. Um they would have to be traded separately. George Nang could fit into a couple different trade exceptions around the league. So, we’ll see if a team wants to take a flyer on him, uh or if he ends up wearing green for the Celtics next season. I wouldn’t love that, especially if they’re keeping Hower. It signals to me that Nang is on his way out. if they they probably would be choosing between the two of these guys. And at 32 years old, I mean, he’s the worst value and you could you could maybe get a protected second round pick of some kind just to get off of the money and salary dump him, which completely dumps Chris Esparzing 30.7 million and you’re closer and closer to that luxury tax line. What do you guys think though? Where does Brad Stevens move next? What’s the next move that Brad Stevens makes in the 2025 NBA offseason? Is it a signing? Is it trading away uh Nyang Simons or Hower? Let me know what you guys think. Brad the Wizard is going to do uh sometime this week because you know the clock’s ticking. The teams teams are getting shifted out. What do you guys think Brad does soon? Let me know in the comments section and make sure you are subscribed to the channel. That will do it for today’s edition of Celtics Today by Chat Sports and we will keep you updated with everything that happens. If Al Horford ends up signing somewhere or if you know the Celtics make a move, we’re going to bring you guys a video instantly. So lock us in. Hit that subscribe button. We’ll see you guys all in the next one. As always, let’s go Seas’s [Music]

Boston Celtics News & Rumors discussed after day 1 of 2025 NBA Free Agency:
– Al Horford Free Agency: Celtics C seeing major interest from multiple contenders
– Warriors Al Horford: Golden State Warriors see Horford as “preferred target”
– Celtics Trade Rumors: Celtics insider says more moves are coming
– Anfernee Simons, Georges Niang or Sam Hauser: Who are the Celtics trading?
– Celtics sign Luka Garza, have mutch different Celtics depth chart at center after losing Luke Kornet to Spurs
– Celtics Today host Tyler Smith breaks down all the latest Celtics rumors and news during NBA Free Agency on today’s Boston Celtics YouTube video

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ESPN NBA Insider Marc J. Spears On Al Horford Rumors:
“He’s taking his time. That there’s three to four teams. I know there’s been a lot of speculation about Golden State. But we’ll wait to see if that three-point shot gets to Chase”

Celtics Insider Jay King on latest Celtics trade rumors:
“Celtics are said to be more focused on avenues that would allow them to hold onto Hauser”

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Boston Celtics Depth Chart At Center:
– Luka Garza
– Neemias Queta
– Xavier Tilman Sr.
– Amari Williams

We got you covered with more Boston Celtics YouTube videos to get you through the 2025 NBA offseason:
– 🚨Celtics SIGN Luka Garza, LOSE Luke Kornet In NBA Free Agency – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbEZBVKLzXk
– FINAL Celtics Free Agent Targets Before 2025 NBA Free Agency Ft. Al Horford & Luke Kornet: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-_FIFtr5Po
– 🚨Celtics Fans Get A TRIPLE DOSE OF MAJOR NEWS Before NBA Free Agency: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8oXlYzqrlD0

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– Where does Al Horford sign in NBA Free Agency?
– What’s the next move Brad Stevens makes?

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