Horford becoming a bad signing for Philly

4 years, $109 million. Liked him, but glad we're not paying that.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2874238-the-philadelphia-76ers-badly-need-to-make-a-splash-at-the-nba-trade-deadline?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_campaign=editorial&utm_medium=referral

Dont cry for me Argentina

Aww. Poor Philadelphia. They are not the team of the future nor even the team of the present, despite what all the expert sportswriters predicted. And they lost big to the struggling, lowly, expect nothing big from them Boston Celtics who have to fail because they lost Kyrie and Al. Aww. Poor Philadelphia.

Simmons has a worse jumper than Markelle Faultz....

I have to admit I expected the loss of Horford to have more effect on us as a team. The way Al played defense I thought would really hurt. He is not used the same way in Philly. Al is the only player on the Celtics that Kyrie might have made better. You could see JT's eyes get wide right before he slammed it in Al's face. Scintillating. Daniel has softened the blow at center with his play and the whole team plays differently without Kyrie. Nets getting a taste of it now.
Simmons is a liability when they buckle down and quit letting him get to the rim. JT did that a 2-3 times last night and Simmons would get caught in the air and turn it over.

As alot of you know who are on Game On nightly. whenever the game is nationally televised I turn on Grande and Maxwell. Last night, all night long, all they kept commenting on was the invisible presence of Horford. Grande said that at times it almost looked like Al just did not know which way to turn. At the end of the game, they commented on how "father time" looked like it was catching up alot earlier than ever expected. He just is such a bad fit for that team. All the money in the world will never make Horford the player he was here. He made a huge mistake, but....he has a really young family and went for the money over the fit.

All I can say is, I know Danny would never have paid him that money, but he was ready to make a decent offer. Did he dodge a bullet??

cowens/oldschool wrote:Simmons has a worse jumper than Markelle Faultz....

That's not a fair statement. Simmons doesn't have a jumper.

As many of you know I saw no good reason to resign Al Horford.   It makes no good sense to resign a guy who is clearly on the downward slope of his career.  Yes he can still play but Al was never going to be good enough at  center unless you could pair him with a dynamic athletic PF who would primarily be a defender and rebounder.  

The Sixers played themselves because Al is a poor fit along side Embid.  Al cannot play PF because he is too slow.  The game has changed.

If Al had agreed to the attractive offer from Boston we would not have been able to sign Kemba.  In the end things have worked out good.  Boston was not going to be able to pay Al, GH, JB and JT and KW.

The Sixers are a stupid franchise.  Stupid.  And now they are locked into a few bad contracts.

The Celtics do not miss AH.

Watch for PHI/Elton Brand to do something big in the next couple of days before the trade deadline. You guys know the trading market better than I and who would fit, but Brand is not afraid.

What do you all see as possible moves for them? Just curious. Thanks!

db

dbrown they really could use a shooter

I also think they should bring AH off the bench.  Starting him next to Embid is not working.

No team in their right mind would take on AH contract.  If he was on an expiring deal they could move him.  But he has 3 more years after this year.

They are in an untenable situation.

gee, isn't that too bad!!

I do not see them making a huge splash, but, after the season is over and this group does not do what they were expected to do. I would not be surprised if either Simmons or Embid gets moved. The stories I read are that they just are not a cohesive unit. They may move Harris? or someone else on the bench, or, like the Celtics, wait until the buyout market is set. That is what I think Danny will do.

My question is: Who goes if we sign someone as a free agent???? Green?? That would be too bad, he is just beginning to blossom into a steady bench player.

As far as Philadelphia is concerned, you are right, Brand will do anything to shore up this team for the playoff run

wow, for a guy that almost everyone loved when he was here, Horford really is getting a lot of "non-love" now!!


https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/h/horfoal01.html


his stats are not that much different than when he was here, except his shooting is down so far this year, maybe because of higher usage on the 3  at Philly.

is he overpaid...YES

he was also overpaid when he was here too.


BTW, his deal is actually 4 years at $97M guaranteed

$12M of the fourth year is currently non-guaranteed.

Horford had to make a family decision. Go where you can get the most money and put yourself in a position to run at the title. Can't fault him for doing that. Who you can fault is PHI trying to put a round peg in a square hole with the all-in mentality. Now they are left holding the proverbial flaming bag o' poo.

I know every player has to make adjustments when moving to another team and their role changes some or a lot. But what they are asking AH to do this late in his career is trying to teach an old dog new tricks. You can do it, but the effort required is staggering.

db

kdp59 wrote:wow, for a guy that almost everyone loved when he was here, Horford really is getting a lot of "non-love" now!!.

Not seeing one comment that is negative about Al as a person, so the love for him still exsists in my eyes.

But at that salary - yes, bullet dodged. If he accepted a 3 year 50 million dollar deal, he would still be here in my estimation.

No one could ever complain about Al when he was here. He was a "glue guy" when we need one. I loved what he brought to the team, and he did it with class. Yes, as I said, he has a very young family, babies and all. This money will cement his future, I am just not sure it will be with Philly.
I think they thought he would be a great influence on Embid and Simmons. Who knows what is going on there. I only wish him the best, but he had a rough game the other night

KyleCleric wrote:

cowens/oldschool wrote:Simmons has a worse jumper than Markelle Faultz....

That's not a fair statement. Simmons doesn't have a jumper.

True

RosalieTCeltics wrote:No one could ever complain about Al when he was here. He was a "glue guy" when we need one. I loved what he brought to the team, and he did it with class.  Yes, as I said, he has a very young family, babies and all.  This money will cement his future, I am just not sure it will be with Philly.
I think they thought he would be a great influence on Embid and Simmons.  Who knows what is going on there. I only wish him the best, but he had a rough game the other night  

Yeah, but he had so much limited/weak production even when he was here, he never rebounded enough, needed more and more games off, we sure got rid of him at the right time. Nice guy, Sixers problem now, boy do their fans rip him....

Cow

We did not get rid of him. He left for more money.

The Celtics dodged a bullet

that is the way I feel dboss. Judging from what has gone one in Philly, they are not making life easy for him the way the Celtics did. Brad and Danny knew when to get him off his feet, and help save his knees. I do feel bad for Al, he was a good teammate and never bitched about anything. But, it was his decision to leave. Unfortunately for him, he is going to bounce around I think

He wanted the role as a 4 and the Sixers wanted to pay him to play that role. It’s just not the right way to use him in today’s NBA.

RosalieTCeltics wrote:that is the way I feel dboss.  Judging from what has gone one in Philly, they are not making life easy for  him the way the Celtics did. Brad and Danny knew when to get him off his feet, and help save his knees.  I do feel bad for Al, he was a good teammate and never bitched about anything. But, it was his decision to leave. Unfortunately for him, he is going to bounce around I think

I never feel bad for someone who will have made more than a quarter of a billion dollars when his current contract is up.

Touche'

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/al-horford-not-starting-sixers-190159509.html



Al Horford not starting for Sixers vs. Clippers



Paul Hudrick
NBC Sports Philadelphia
February 11, 2020, 11:01 AM PST



Before Friday night's win over Memphis, Brett Brown said "everything is on the table" when asked about the possibility of Al Horford coming off the bench.

On Tuesday, that came to fruition as Brown opted to start the red-hot Furkan Korkmaz in place of Horford against the Clippers.

While it's no secret that Horford has struggled to fit in offensively with the Sixers, this matchup is also a part of why Brown is using Korkmaz.

"I think my immediate answer would be is I would suspect so," Brown said Monday when asked if he'll have to adjust to L.A.'s small ball lineups, "because it's an unlikely sort of group that you have to match up with, initially right from the get go with this at the start of the game. How we do that, how we start the game, how we match up, we'll discuss more tomorrow. But your question is fair. There's a lot of mobile wings, more than a lot of top heavy bigs."

GM Elton Brand signed the 33-year-old Horford to a big four-year deal to give the team a Joel Embiid insurance policy. The thought was that Horford could play next to and back up Embiid.

During his three seasons in Boston, Horford shot 38.2 percent from three. Brand figured the five-time All-Star could help spread the floor for Embiid and Ben Simmons. Instead, the veteran big has made just 32.6 percent from deep.

In his defense, Horford's strengths are not being accentuated with the current roster construction. Brand believes those skills will eventually shine through.

"At home, it has been, but I don't want to lean on that because I can't lean on that," Brand said last Friday. "But having the best record at home says something. Being as terrible as we have been on the road says something too. I believe in this group. It's going to be determined, and like I alluded to earlier, I put this roster together. So all the great things he does bring, I think will come to the surface."

Korkmaz has more than earned the opportunity to start. He's put up back-to-back 30-point performances and the Turkish wing leads the team in both three-point percentage (39. and threes made (105). The 22-year-old has been especially lethal from deep at home, hitting 46.6 percent from distance at Wells Fargo Center.

For at least one game, Horford will be a very expensive reserve. If it goes well, it'll give Brown plenty to think about during the All-Star break.


bob
MY NOTE: Al went for the money, I can't blame him, but all that glitters is not gold.


.

I said this two weeks ago. He looked like a totally different player out there against us. All I heard from Grande and Max on the radio that night was how he just didn't look the same, not a good fit.
You are right, he went for the money and who could blame him, he has a very young family to support. He wants a ring, and thought he might get that here. But, that team is not what it is cracked up to be. Embid wants to be king, Simmons wants to be king, they can only have one. Rumors are rampant that Embid may go at some point, Hey, he hasn't played a full season since he entered the league. They are dynamic when they work together, a crap show when they decide to play apart. Too bad Al, you had it made here, but you never would have gotten the money you got there. What have you given up? Your Soul.

His sister Anna - always showing Boston love. Al chased the money, but bad move all around for him.

Philly isnt in the same universe as Boston as a city, as a fan base, as a sports town, period.