With the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline approaching, here are five teams that should consider trading for Al Horford.
Al Horford may not be a Hawk for much longer.
The 2016 NBA Trade Deadline is less than three weeks away, and as The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on his podcast last week, the Atlanta Hawks are one team that could look to make some changes:
"“One team that I think is really at a crossroads talking to teams is the Atlanta Hawks… Al Horford is a free agent this summer. They’re not sure he’s going to stay, whether they’re going to keep him. There’s a chance this Atlanta team pushes the reset button here at some point.”"
The 29-year-old Horford will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, and there is much speculation that the former All-Star could elect to leave the Hawks when his contract expires if the team isn’t ready to give him a long-term maximum extension. From Basketball Insiders’ Lang Greene:
"But are there any teams out there that could realistically compete with the Hawks to land Horford’s services? Yes. With the salary cap increasing significantly this summer, more than 15 franchises (not factoring in cap holds) could have upwards of $20 million in cap space to target marquee free agents…. With the Hawks tight lipped and Horford focused on the current campaign, the future of the center remains uncertain. But you have to wonder when the smoke clears, will the big man remain “True to Atlanta.”"
If the Hawks do believe that Horford will walk this summer, the best option would undoubtedly be exploring trade options now. Forcing a trade would be unwise, since the Hawks are just one year removed from an Eastern Conference Finals trip, but there’s no hurt that can come from keeping an open mind and listening to offers. Horford remains one of the most fundamentally sound big men the league has to offer, and there’s a real market for that.
Though Atlanta, currently the fourth seed, isn’t aggressively shopping their star center, the team’s reported willingness to part with Jeff Teague suggests that a Horford trade is certainly on the table.
Reports: Hawks testing trade waters for Jeff Teague; Knicks interested https://t.co/htBynZgMqf
— Kurt Helin (@basketballtalk) January 27, 2016
Atlanta has to decide where they really are... if they know they are losing Horford, do you move Teague and rebuild? https://t.co/CtO7JT4nt6
— Steve Kyler (@stevekylerNBA) January 27, 2016
As noted before, fundamental two-way bigs are a rare commodity in today’s league, and there are countless clubs that could use Horford’s services, some of whom would be perfectly willing to take the gamble on losing him after the season. Nothing is guaranteed of course, but here are five potential (and trade-machine-approved) deals that could go down before the deadline.
Next: No. 5