Al Horford should be Celtics’ center of attention as trade deadline nears
Hawks center Al Horford would look great as a Celtic.
COMMENTARY
Maybe the full allotment of time you dedicate to following New England sports belonged to the Patriots during their quest for retribution and a second straight Lombardi Trophy. Or maybe you’ve been with the Celtics all along here during this entertaining and mostly enjoyable season, which includes 28-22 record and a tie for the third-best record in the Eastern Conference despite a few hiccups along the way.
Depending upon your perspective, you can consider this either a status update encouraging you to jump on board or a confirmation of what you’ve been witnessing yourself, but here’s how I see this team at the moment:
The 2015-16 Celtics are a collection of flawed, hard-working, slightly above average players at various stages of improvement and regression who to a man seem to care desperately about winning every time they take the court.
Together, they will sometimes win games they shouldn’t, when they’re hitting threes and their aggressive perimeter defense is initiating the offense. Other nights they will let games slip away because they lack a go-to scorer (at least one over 5 feet 9 inches) who can be counted on to close out a tight game.
It is an admirable team, one that rewards its fans with effort, if not always the ideal results. You can go 12-deep on the roster and never come across a player who doesn’t leave you saying, “I like him, he’s not a perfect player or fit, but I’m glad he’s here,’’ especially if you find Evan Turner more amusing than exasperating.
It’s not a perfect comparison, because this group plays a more aesthetically pleasing style of basketball, but in some ways they remind me of the Paul Pierce/Antoine Walker Celtics of 2001-02, who jacked a ton of 3s and used their defensive stinginess to sneak into the Eastern Conference Finals. If a few things fall right along the way, a similar outcome – and requisite short-series sacrifice to the class-of-the-conference Cavaliers — is not out of the question for this group.
Of course, the goal is not to replicate the feats of the Truth/Toine years, but to match the accomplishments of a certain Celtics team from a half-dozen years later. The 2007-08 Celtics – featuring the Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen – raised Banner 17 to the rafters. Before the confetti stopped falling the night that championship was secured, the next goal was already in mind: Banner 18.
It remains in mind, and thus far unfulfilled. This current Celtics team, as structured at the moment, is not a championship contender. It is far from that, even if it does somehow slip into the NBA’s final four in June. Which is why an interesting season is about to get more interesting. The NBA trading deadline is Thursday, February 18. The rumors are already flying higher than Dr. J at his peak.
Given Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge’s well-established willingness to make trades big and small, as well as the desire – or perhaps it’s a mission — to build another genuine championship contender as soon as possible, there’s a decent chance this roster undergoes some significant alterations between now and the day the dealing is done.
We’ve all heard the names. Kevin Love (not happening this year), Boogie Cousins (not happening now that he’s dropping 56 points every once in a while), and Dwight Howard (please, no, not here) are the most familiar alleged Celtics targets. But they are not the most intriguing targets, at least among those based in reality and fit with the Celtics.
I am fascinated by the idea of acquiring Atlanta’s Al Horford. According to multiple reports, he may be available, which on the surface seems strange given that the Hawks have the same record as the Celtics and are right in the thick of it in the congested Eastern Conference.
Horford, 29, is a free agent after the season and reportedly wants a max deal. The Hawks could give him five years and $143 million. But if they don’t want to make that commitment to a terrific but injury-prone player, or if they fear he will depart in free agency, it makes some sense to move him now.
Ainge should be watching the Hawks like … well, a hawk, because Horford would be a perfect fit with this Celtics team, and ideally the second- or third-best player on a true title contender. He’s a superb defender and an intelligent, winning player. He expertly runs the pick-and-roll, plays unselfishly and passes well, and this year, has added the 3-pointer to his repertoire. He’s shooting 34 percent on 147 attempts from 3 after taking just 71 in his previous eight pro seasons.
He doesn’t rebound as well as he once did (down to 7 per game this year after averaging 10.2 three years ago) but he’s such a complete player that it’s nothing beyond a minor concern.
Horford is not everything the Celtics need, but he’s someone the Celtics need, and if they can add a genuine go-to scorer in another deal or in free agency, they would be a serious contender in the conference. There would be significant risk involved in trading for him – Horford hasn’t played more than 76 games in a season since 2010-11 – and the cost would be steep for a player who can hit free agency at season’s end.
But Horford is worth the risk – and you must trust the people who would be taking the risk. This is why Brad Stevens and Danny Ainge are so valuable. If you make that trade knowing Horford can walk away, you’re banking on him enjoying it here and appreciating playing for Stevens and the hustle/camaraderie culture he’s trying to cultivate. Knowing what we know about him as a competitor and teammate, I bet he would love it here.
And Ainge? We know he is willing to gamble on a player he likes, and let’s admit what he already knows – there’s no way he can keep all of the draft picks that he’s accumulated. The Celtics are set up to make a trade in which they part with a bushel of picks, even if it means overpaying to get a player they like. They already tried to do it once for Justise Winslow.
They must love Horford – because there is no reason not to. I don’t know that they will acquire him – I’m skeptical Atlanta would pull the trigger – but I sure do hope they try. He’d be a great here, and a fun Celtics season of reasonable expectations would suddenly offer the potential of bigger achievements ahead.
Potential Celtics trade targets
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