NBA Trade Rumors: 15 Teams That Should Trade For Al Horford
1. Boston Celtics
With a plethora of future draft picks and attractive assets, the Boston Celtics are better suited to trade for Al Horford than anyone in the league. General manager Danny Ainge has been stockpiling picks and young players like nuclear warheads in the Cold War, and if he chose Horford as the star he wants to build around, he could make Boston a Godfather-type offer no one else could match.
Just don’t expect Ainge to be willing to give up the farm for a soon to be 30-year-old free agent.
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There are a plethora of options to make a trade that fits Horford’s current $12 million salary. If David Lee‘s expiring deal and multiple picks (most likely including Brooklyn’s first rounder this year that’s owed to Boston) got the job done, that’s one avenue the Celtics would think about pursuing to keep the core intact.
Maybe Amir Johnson‘s $12 million annual salary over the next season (non-guaranteed next year) and a similar package of picks would be more attractive to Atlanta. Perhaps Jonas Jerebko, picks and one of the Isaiah Thomas–Avery Bradley–Marcus Smart backcourt trio would be enough, especially if the Hawks manage to move Teague at the deadline in a separate deal.
Thomas and Bradley are both on contracts well below their market value. Thomas is coming off an All-Star selection and is averaging 21.5 points and 6.6 assists per game this season, while Bradley is a terrific two-way player posting a career high 15.1 points per game on 37.4 percent three-point shooting. Smart has yet to find his offense and perimeter touch, but his rookie contract and tenacious defense make him an attractive asset as well.
Ainge would be hesitant to give up useful role players, but at some point, Smart’s ascension will force the front office to make a choice in keeping only two of the team’s three main guards. Choosing between the three would be no easy task, but suffice it to say that Ainge could come up with a plethora of different trade options for Horford, throwing in future draft picks, Kelly Olynyk or Jared Sullinger as potential sweeteners.
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However, putting those assets to good use on a 29-year-old free agent to be doesn’t seem like the moment Boston fans have been waiting for, and the Celtics should be in no rush to cash in on those assets — even if they don’t have enough roster spots next season for all the incoming rookies that would be on deck if Boston keeps all of its 2016 picks.