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Al Horford Signs with Boston Celtics

By Jeremy Karll

Apr 24, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) controls the ball during the second half in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 24, 2016; Boston, MA, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) controls the ball during the second half in game four of the first round of the NBA Playoffs against the Boston Celtics at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s official. Al Horford has decided to join the Boston Celtics. Following the Atlanta Hawks re-signing Kent Bazemore for $70 million over four-years last night, the Celtics and Washington Wizards emerged as frontrunners. Boston’s “strong presentation” must have been enough to sway the big man to accept their four-year, $113 million offer, holding off a late rally by the Hawks.

Horford becomes the team’s biggest free agent signing in their historic franchise history. After failing to make a trade happen with Atlanta at the deadline this year, rumors about Horford coming to Boston have circulated ever since.

The Celtics have to make a decision on guaranteeing the deals of Amir Johnson and Jonas Jerebko by July 7, and Jared Sullinger is likely to leave via free agency soon. Even if all three stayed, Horford is easily the best front court player on the team and fills a gigantic hole the Celtics have failed to fill through the draft or via trades.

After spending his entire career with the Hawks, Horford becomes the only All-Star besides Isaiah Thomas on Boston next season. He’s been to four All-Star games in his career, including the past two.

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Horford is one of the most complete big men in the league and fits perfectly into Brad Stevens’ system as he provides the Celtics with a swiss army knife on offense and a rim protector on defense. Last season, he averaged 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game. He also added a three-point shot to his offensive arsenal – 34.4 percent from deep – and shot an impressive 50.5 percent from the field.

He has dealt with injuries in the past but Horford played in all 82 games last season and 76 the season prior. Injuries shouldn’t be a concern, and I’d expect Horford to play 32-to-35 minutes a night with ease.

Now Boston is just awaiting the decision of Kevin Durant. No matter what Durant decides, they got significantly better with this signing and added another star alongside Thomas. They’re definitely far from done, however, Horford is a big piece to the puzzle, and should at least help them go on a deeper playoff run next season. The next goal is adding one more star to vault them into the title contender tier.

Next: Looking Ahead to 2017 NBA Draft

He has already changed his Twitter avatar to the Celtics logo and his Twitter background to ‘BOSTON’.

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