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Horford signs with the Celtics, try to sign Kevin Durant

kalinecountry

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http://www.csnne.com/boston-celtics-al-horford-kevin-durant-nba-rumors-atlanta-hawks
CELTICS SIGN AL HORFORD TO FOUR-YEAR, $113 MILLION DEAL.

Boat load of money for this guy. I wanted Durant.

Maybe this helps to get Durant after reading this from Celtics Blog.
http://www.celticsblog.com/2016/7/2...-celtics-reach-agreement-with-al-horford-to-4
Breaking News: Boston Celtics reach agreement with Al Horford to 4-year $113 million max deal.

The amount of money the NBA throws around is absurd. $23M/year???? Stupid!
 
Wow what a ton of money and another hated franchise gets way better :(
 
Better in the hands of the players than the owners.

I somewhat disagree. Though I have no love for owners.....paying rediculous salaries will lead to higher ticket prices and continue to alienate those fans who simply can't pay those prices.

It will catch up to the NBA one day.
 
Player salaries are locked in by percentage of overall revenue. How much players make has zero effect on ticket prices. It's completely the other way around. Ticket sales and TV contracts set the amount NBA player can make in the following year.

This is a very reasonable contract for Horford. Maximum contract-level players are always underpaid relative to their effect on a team's record. Horford is more than 50% more valuable than a injury prone, poor defending, shooter like Ryan Anderson (making 20 million a year).

That said, Horford either really believes Durant is going to Boston, or else he made a pretty big mistake. Boston with Horford is not even close to a real challenger to Cleveland in the East. He'll basically play for the same caliber team he left, with no hope (outside of half a dozen season ending injuries to superstars on specific teams) of winning a title. If he wanted to get paid and actually win, he should have gone to OKC. If he just wanted to get paid, he should have taken the slightly bigger max from Atlanta.
 
Player salaries are locked in by percentage of overall revenue. How much players make has zero effect on ticket prices. It's completely the other way around. Ticket sales and TV contracts set the amount NBA player can make in the following year.

This is a very reasonable contract for Horford. Maximum contract-level players are always underpaid relative to their effect on a team's record. Horford is more than 50% more valuable than a injury prone, poor defending, shooter like Ryan Anderson (making 20 million a year).

That said, Horford either really believes Durant is going to Boston, or else he made a pretty big mistake. Boston with Horford is not even close to a real challenger to Cleveland in the East. He'll basically play for the same caliber team he left, with no hope (outside of half a dozen season ending injuries to superstars on specific teams) of winning a title. If he wanted to get paid and actually win, he should have gone to OKC. If he just wanted to get paid, he should have taken the slightly bigger max from Atlanta.

Problem was Atlanta didn't initially want to add a 5th year. Horford and his agents eventually backed off the fifth year. Then they were squabbling about the difference in money. Atlanta didn't want to offer him the max and four years. They were 6 million apart. He probably could've made a couple million more in Atlanta, but rumors were also swirling that he didn't want to have to share a front court with Howard. Howard has the reputation of a personality that wears on his teammates over time. On the OKC front, KD and Russ wouldn't guarantee Horford they would be there long-term if Horford came to OKC. Boston is as good as it gets for Horford. Better long term outlook for Horford than Atlanta. Even if KD doesn't come, they will be a 55 win team with a decent future as they have a young roster on inexpensive contracts with the ability to add a max free agent next year as well because of the way Ainge set up the contracts. They also have all their picks plus swaps with Brooklyn next year and an unprotected Brooklyn pick in 2018. Next year's draft is a good opportunity to score a potential superstar if you're in the Top 3 picks. Stevens is a top 3 coach in this league. While I agree they don't have a shot against Cleveland for the next three seasons without Durant, I do think they were the 2nd best team in the East long-term with or without him.
 
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Problem was Atlanta didn't initially want to add a 5th year. Horford and his agents eventually backed off the fifth year. Then they were squabbling about the difference in money. Atlanta didn't want to offer him the max and four years. They were 6 million apart. He probably could've made a couple million more in Atlanta, but rumors were also swirling that he didn't want to have to share a front court with Howard. Howard has the reputation of a personality that wears on his teammates over time. On the OKC front, KD and Russ wouldn't guarantee Horford they would be there long-term if Horford came to OKC. Boston is as good as it gets for Horford. Better long term outlook for Horford than Atlanta. Even if KD doesn't come, they will be a 55 win team with a decent future as they have a young roster on inexpensive contracts with the ability to add a max free agent next year as well because of the way Ainge set up the contracts. They also have all their picks plus swaps with Brooklyn next year and an unprotected Brooklyn pick in 2018. Next year's draft is a good opportunity to score a potential superstar if you're in the Top 3 picks. Stevens is a top 3 coach in this league. While I agree they don't have a shot against Cleveland for the next three seasons without Durant, I do think they were the 2nd best team in the East long-term with or without him.

I can understand not wanting to pair with Howard. Horford is the far better offensive player of the two, and Howard is notorious about demanding touches to take bad shots.

The OKC thing is interesting, I hadn't heard that he talked to KD and Russ. If true, that should be a worrying response for Sam Presti. I mean, even if KD and Russ were just trying to be honest (anything can happen, after all), you'd think they would let Horford know, "Hey, anything can happen, but we're not going to walk out on a championship team, which we think we could build with you here." If he was pressing them to the point of saying that he would sign if they guarantee they'd stay, and they just flat out said no, that's just stupid on their part. Even if they intend to leave later, they could be the presumptive favorites next year with Horford.

And yeah, it's not that Boston is a completely shitty destination. It's just a lateral move. Horford never struck me as a Melo type who cared more about what club is open after the game than who is even on his team. By the time Boston may (and even this is a big question) be ready to compete for championships, Horford is going to be at the end of his contract. Maybe he gets one year as the over-the-hill-but-still-effective vet next to a star drafted next year. But most players take three years to really break out, and Boston just doesn't have any star power right now outside Thomas (who is just a borderline star himself).
 
I can understand not wanting to pair with Howard. Horford is the far better offensive player of the two, and Howard is notorious about demanding touches to take bad shots.

The OKC thing is interesting, I hadn't heard that he talked to KD and Russ. If true, that should be a worrying response for Sam Presti. I mean, even if KD and Russ were just trying to be honest (anything can happen, after all), you'd think they would let Horford know, "Hey, anything can happen, but we're not going to walk out on a championship team, which we think we could build with you here." If he was pressing them to the point of saying that he would sign if they guarantee they'd stay, and they just flat out said no, that's just stupid on their part. Even if they intend to leave later, they could be the presumptive favorites next year with Horford.

And yeah, it's not that Boston is a completely shitty destination. It's just a lateral move. Horford never struck me as a Melo type who cared more about what club is open after the game than who is even on his team. By the time Boston may (and even this is a big question) be ready to compete for championships, Horford is going to be at the end of his contract. Maybe he gets one year as the over-the-hill-but-still-effective vet next to a star drafted next year. But most players take three years to really break out, and Boston just doesn't have any star power right now outside Thomas (who is just a borderline star himself).

Here is Woj reporting on it:
https://twitter.com/wojverticalnba/status/749385924233093120

It was one of those points people and coverage had glossed over because the focus is more on Durant and where he is going. I think for Horford, it was the culture Boston had created for its players regardless of the championship opportunities. You want to be with a system you like playing in with a coach you would want to play for. Atlanta has that but they also seem like a team that is a year away from blowing it up and trading Millsap and Korver for assets.
 
I wonder if Westbrook would consider going to the Celtics now next offseason? Not sure what other potential contenders have the cap room to sign someone like Westbrook.

EDIT: Took a look and actually a couple potential contenders could sign Westbrook. Most prominent is actually Cleveland if they sign just one year deals to fill the remainder of their roster this offseason. Minnesota would also be a dark horse candidate depending on how much improvement they show I would think. A few other teams like the Knicks and Bucks could make moves to shed cap space.
 
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Reading Celtics will tty to trade for one of Cousins, Butler, Griffin, Love, or Westbrook.
 
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