Atlanta Hawks: What Does The Future Hold Without Al Horford?
The Atlanta Hawks lost venerable center Al Horford in free agency to the Boston Celtics, much to the disappointment and ire of Hawks fans. What do the Hawks look like following his departure?
After the Atlanta Hawks made the decision to sign free agent center Dwight Howard to a three-year, $70.5 million contract, the chance of bringing back Horford was tenuous at best.
The Hawks did make a late push to bring back Horford, offering him a fifth year on a contract and shopping Paul Millsap in an effort to retain his services. Ultimately, the two sides were $6 million apart, leading to his departure to the Boston Celtics.
Horford spent the first nine years of his career with the Atlanta Hawks, becoming a fan favorite and face of the franchise. In his rookie year of 2007-08, he led the Hawks to their first playoff berth in nearly a decade.
Al Horford was the last vestige of a bygone era of Hawks basketball: one that consisted of Joe Johnson and Josh Smith. He was the tie to the past and the key to future, all in one. Horford was the one consistent piece for the Hawks for nearly a decade.
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Now he is gone, and the Hawks must move on without him.
Though never considered a star while in Atlanta, upon signing in Boston, the national media lauded the Horford pickup by the Celtics, claiming that Boston finally got their star player. Commentators slobbered over the signing, as if Horford was the second coming of Paul Pierce.
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As a native of Atlanta and life-long fan of the Atlanta Hawks, this is greatly disrespectful to the Hawks and to Horford. The Hawks had a superior roster than Boston currently does for years while Horford was a part of the team.
Why didn’t he or the Hawks receive the recognition they deserved while he was donning a Hawks uniform?
In fact, the national media also tends to forget that the Hawks ousted the Celtics in six games in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last postseason.
Horford was a star in Atlanta, but never received the credit he was due because of the national perception of the Hawks and the city of Atlanta as a whole.
But I digress. This is an issue that Atlanta fans know well and will continue to know for years to come.
The Hawks and Horford were destined for a divorce following the signing of Howard — and I can’t really blame either side.
With Horford, the Hawks were stuck in neutral. After two consecutive postseason sweeps at the hands of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Atlanta front-office and new ownership group were not content to stand pat.
Something had to change and following the exit of Horford and Jeff Teague, Atlanta will have a different look come the first game of the NBA regular season.
Next: Defense.