3 long-term Al Horford replacements the Boston Celtics must consider

Boston Celtics long-term replacement No. 3) Grant Williams

While this may be an unexciting option for Boston Celtics fans, Grant Williams is the most obvious replacement for Al Horford in the future given he’s young and already on the team.

Boston already knows how he fits into their scheme, and his skill set closely resembles Al Horford to the point where his teammates often referred to him last season as mini Al Horford.

Who better to replace Horford than the miniature version of himself?

Grant Williams was a revelation last season, often defending superstars in big games like Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo, as well as being one of the best corner 3-point shooters in the entire NBA.

Williams shot 41 percent from deep last season on 3.4 attempts a game, which is impressive given he averaged just 24.4 minutes a game.

The biggest difference between Grant and Big Al is their passing abilities, but, otherwise, Grant shares some of the important skills that Horford provided last season, while also providing some extra value in other areas (mainly shooting).

The biggest thing with the young forward will be producing at a similar level for another full season.

Given the added depth this offseason, it’s possible Grant doesn’t get as much playing time this year, meaning he will have to work hard to prove he’s worthy of being a starter for a championship contender.

If the undersized power forward can put together another satisfying season off the bench, he might not be coming off the bench for too much longer.

If Grant Williams doesn’t show enough for Udoka to feel comfortable inserting him into the starting lineup the following season, the Celtics could always slide players up in their starting lineup, like moving Jayson Tatum to power forward and/or Jaylen Brown to small forward.