The Boston Celtics and Al Horford were recently linked as a possible match if the Atlanta Hawks choose to deal Horford before the trade deadline tomorrow at 3p.m. EST. The Hawks have been linked to trade discussions involving several of their starters, and as of late they’ve been linked to Dwight Howard.
Horford’s free agency this summer makes things important for the Hawks, because if he’s not committed to re-signing with Atlanta, trading him is the viable option, and his value is legitimate as an All-Star.
A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com was told by a league source that the Celtics are now considered to be favorites to land Horford if he’s dealt by the Hawks:
The Atlanta Hawks have not made a decision on whether they will trade Al Horford but a league source tells CSNNE.com that the Boston Celtics have emerged as one of the favorites to land him if the Hawks decide to part ways with the veteran forward.
That means any team acquiring him via trade runs the risk of him being an end-of-the-season rental player with Horford set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Boston would still take that risk, but there would most likely be some reassurances before the deal is consummated that the 29-year-old Horford (He’ll be 30 in June) would be strongly considering re-signing with the Celtics for what would most likely be a near-max contract.
The Celtics are expected to be active on the trade market because of their depth of player and trade assets as well as their ultimate need to add more substantial talent. Al Horford is one of the more skilled big men in the league. His presence on both ends of the floor would only make Boston more respectable, and more importantly, more attractive to potential free agents this summer.
If the Hawks are truly looking to regroup and the Celtics are gunning for Horford hard enough, we could see him on the move to Boston by tomorrow afternoon.
