{"id":143374,"date":"2025-06-04T06:00:49","date_gmt":"2025-06-04T10:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=143374"},"modified":"2025-06-03T21:38:30","modified_gmt":"2025-06-04T01:38:30","slug":"al-horford-celtics-future","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/06\/04\/al-horford-celtics-future\/","title":{"rendered":"Beloved Celtics Big Man’s Future With the Team is Unclear"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Boston Celtics are facing a historic payroll heading into the offseason. They will try to shed salary, likely Jrue Holiday<\/a>, and Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is<\/a> to get under the dreaded second apron<\/a>. Big men Al Horford<\/a> and Luke Kornet<\/a> are also free agents. It’s unclear if Boston will be able to afford both of them. Horford seems primed to play his 19th season<\/a> and can still contribute at a high level. He averaged 9 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.1 assists this past season. Horford’s floor spacing and high basketball IQ make him an impactful player on both ends of the floor. The veteran big man is beloved by fans and teammates alike. Nevertheless, it’s not guaranteed that Horford will take a discount to play for the Celtics.<\/p>\n

Beloved Celtics Big Man’s Future With the Team is Unclear<\/h2>\n

On a recent episode of The Hoop Collective podcast<\/a>, ESPN analyst Tim Bontemps speculated about Horford’s free agency decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cAl Horford is a free agent. I don\u2019t think at this point it makes a lot of sense for Horford to be back in Boston. Maybe he will be, but given where things are with the Celtics, I think he\u2019s now much more in play than he might have been a month ago\u2026Horford is a longtime friend of Karl-Anthony Towns<\/a> and has played with him with the Dominican National team for a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n