The Boston Celtics have had quite a disappointing run through 46 games played in 2021-22 and, if they wish to try and turn things around the front office will likely need to try and take matters into their own hands by making some talent-bolstering moves, specifically way means of the trade market.
Wednesday night marked the start of their trade-season endeavors as it was announced that Brad Stevens and co. had struck a multi-team deal that sent out afterthought bench warmer Juan Hernangomez in exchange for PJ Dozier and Bol Bol from the Denver Nuggets.
While this transaction is certainly a potentially intriguing one in the long-term (especially if Bol can manage to put his injury woes behind him), in regard to this season the C’s must look to continue their wheeling and dealing ways in an effort to land a difference-maker that can help them win in the now and, according to recent rumblings, it appears that’s exactly what’s on Stevens’ mind.
Per Jared Weiss of The Athletic (subscription required), the Celtics are reportedly interested in making more follow-up deals between now and February 10th’s deadline, and, according to his reporting, there are three players, in specific, that they are open to offloading: Dennis Schroder, Josh Richardson, and Al Horford.
Now, though the first two talents are undeniably intriguing, the big man may be the player that could cause Boston the most problems as they look to dangle him.
That said, though it may be tough to find a taker, this is not to say that there are no teams out there that would consider dealing for the veteran. With this in mind, today we at the Houdini will pinpoint 2 potentially realistic trade destinations for Al Horford:
Boston Celtics trade partner No. 1) Houston Rockets
To put it lightly, there are two major reasons why Al Horford could, and most likely will prove to be a trouble to trade away this season: he has a ridiculously inflated contract and is by no means living up to it.
When the Philadelphia 76ers initially signed him to a four-year, $109 million deal back in the summer of 2019, it was perceived as a bad signing, and this was when coming off of a rather solid season by the, then, 32-year-old.
Now, at age 35 and putting forth one of the worst seasons of his career, his $27 million salary has grown to look far worse than initially thought, and now, as a result, the Boston Celtics are going to have to get creative if they wish to deal away the veteran big.
Luckily, there are still a few teams that could be willing to bite the bullet on his contract, and one of them just happens to be the Rockets.
In the early stages of a full-fledged rebuild since trading away James Harden early into last year’s campaign, Houston is looking towards a long-term youth movement and, in turn, is looking to offload some of their remaining big-time contracts.
Now yes, with this statement it may make one question why we believe a guy like Horford would be mentioned here being he’s owed upwards of $53.5 million combined between this year and the end of next.
However, what one may not realize is that his deal for next season is only partially guaranteed, which means the Rockets could then exchange more longer-term contracts of their own and rid themselves of any cap casualties as soon as next season.
One player, in particular, that Houston may be interested in offloading is Eric Gordon who, perfectly enough, is a player that many believe the Celtics should consider pursuing at the deadline to help bolster their bench rotation.
Should this prove to be the case, and the C’s are actually interested in trading for the savvy sixth-man, they likely could find it easy to make salaries work if they attach Horford in a deal.
Boston Celtics trade partner No. 2) Sacramento Kings
Similar to the Houston Rockets, we believe the Sacramento Kings could be a potential trade destination for Al Horford, largely due to the fact that they have a high-priced player signed on for a few years longer than the big man who the Boston Celtics may be interested in pursuing at some point between now and the deadline.
That player: Buddy Hield.
Despite being under contract through 2024, it’s the worst-kept secret that the Kings are looking to part ways with their spark-plug wing, as they already came into the year having reportedly offered him up in a deal to the Los Angeles Lakers that nearly came to pass and, just recently, it was reported that the 29-year-old is once again available.
With Boston already being viewed as an intriguing landing spot for Hield, coupled with the fact that they find themselves continuing to plummet in the standings with wildly inconsistent play, we feel as though a shake-up such as this could actually be one that winds up being strongly considered by Stevens.
Currently in his sixth year in the association, the fiery scoring guard is posting sound per-game averages of 15.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, and two assists on 38 percent shooting from deep whilst predominantly coming off the pine for the Kings which, by all accounts, is exactly the kind of production this C’s second unit that ranks 28th in the league in points, 22nd in field goal percentage, and dead last in offensive rating could use.
For Sacramento, swapping out Hield’s $39 million still owed to him over the next two full seasons for Horford’s remaining 2022 salary and his only partially-guaranteed pay-day next season along with other assets (Aaron Nesmith, Romeo Langford, perhaps a heavily-protected draft pick, etc.) could ultimately prove to be worth it in the long run, especially if they’re just hell-bent on getting rid of his contract and, in turn, clearing up cap space for the future.