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Saturday afternoon, Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical announced that Al Horford had called off talks with the Atlanta Hawks and has decided to sign with the Boston Celtics.
Al Horford plans to sign a four-year, $113M deal with the Boston Celtics, league sources tells @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 2, 2016
After what appeared to be a rather uneventful draft night for the Celtics, given their bounty of picks leading in, this has to be seen as quite the coup for General Manager Danny Ainge.
Horford will join a Celtics team that went 48-34 last season and will fill a gap on both ends of the floor. While Boston ran out a unit that featured three perimeter oriented scorers and defenders in Isaiah Thomas, Avery Bradley, and Jae Crowder, their lack of production inside on both sides of the ball was their ultimate downfall in the playoffs.
Al Horford's immediate reaction is one that will surely endear him to the folks in New England.
Celtic Pride!!!!!!
— Al Horford (@Al_Horford) July 2, 2016
As for Horford's motivation, it appears that the Atlanta Hawks and Horford were apart on the financial figures. It seems like there may be more to this than $6 million dollars, regardless- Horford will be wearing Celtic green heading into the 2016-17 season.
Sources: Tremendous momentum for Hawks in final hours, w/ Horford returning and giving Hawks chance. In end, Hawks, Horford $6M total apart.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) July 2, 2016