Al Horford's Celtics drama just took a new turn fans need to monitor

For the past two weeks, all signs have pointed to Boston Celtics free agent center Al Horford joining the Golden State Warriors. Countless reports have indicated that the 40-year-old big man would be landing in The Bay this summer, after his second stint in Boston has seemingly come to a close.

Days have come and gone, yet Horford is still not a Warrior.

Though insiders have said that the five-time All-Star wasn’t going to rush into any decisions, ESPN and Andscape’s Marc J. Spears revealed that the Warriors believed Horford would’ve signed with them by now.

"Golden State expected him to sign last week, he didn't,” Spears explained during an appearance on ESPN’s NBA Today. “(Los Angeles) Lakers, Milwaukee (Bucks), and the Atlanta (Hawks), I believe, are also interested in this 40-year-old guy who also has retirement on the table. He's still considering retiring; he's not in any hurry.”

The Celtics still don't seemed destined for another year of Al Horford

The lack of a contract seemingly opens the door for more possibilities, just not with the Celtics (or Denver Nuggets, which many Celtics fans have as their top destination for the beloved center, should he leave town).

Boston’s absence from Spears’ list of Horford destinations shouldn’t come as a shock, though. Last week, Celtics President of Basketball Operations Brad Stevens basically told the media outright that Horford had played his final game with the team, despite their interest in bringing him back.

“We made offers to both Luke [Kornet] and Al,” Stevens told the media last Tuesday, via CLNS. “We would’ve loved to have had both of them back. I would say that’s unlikely. The only reason I haven’t talked about Al is because it’s not final. I could probably talk about Al for my whole press conference and not say enough. But, I don’t want to speak in absolute terms until an ultimate decision is made.”

The toughest part of the whole situation is that most of the teams that Horford is linked to have been or remain rivals of the Celtics. Seeing the big man suit up for the Lakers or Bucks would be difficult for some fans. Depending on who you ask, the Warriors fall into that same category.

Horford choosing to rejoin the Hawks, who drafted him third overall in 2007, would be a cool story at the very least. Plus, Atlanta has made some strong roster moves this summer and is looking like a serious contender in the Eastern Conference.

As Spears mentioned, there’s always the possibility of retirement, too. If Horford were to call it a career, he’d likely be headed to the Basketball Hall of Fame in the near future. The 2024-25 campaign was his 18th NBA season. He was, of course, a big part of the 2024 Celtics NBA Championship team, a five-time All-Star, and a former member of the All-Defensive and All-NBA teams. Not to mention that Horford helped Florida to back-to-back National Championships during his collegiate tenure.

Horford was/is a winner on and off the court.

“If he were to go and play somewhere else [he’s] an all-time Celtic and winner,” Stevens continued. “He did all he could for this organization. Not only from the games, but also how he impacted our younger players, who now, in a lot of ways, have to take what they’ve learned from the Jrue (Holiday)s and the Al and apply it to their own leadership roles.”