A pair of former Boston Celtics champions are looking at uncertain futures with the Golden State Warriors. Both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford may have played their final game with the franchise last month.
Porzingis will become an unrestricted free agent in July, while Horford will have the opportunity to decide if he wants to opt into his $6 million player-option for next season. While there’s been no reporting on what exactly the Warriors are planning to do with the two bigs, Warriors insider Tim Kawakami of the San Francisco Standard speculates that they’ll have to choose between them, since roster spots are limited and the Dubs can’t afford to fill the remaining slots with part-time players.
“In this environment, I don’t see how the Warriors can bring back both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, even if both are interested in returning,” Kawakami wrote. “I think they’re not likely to bid too high if De’Anthony Melton declines his player option.”
For what it’s worth, general manager Mike Dunleavy conveyed that opposite last week, telling the media that the team hopes to bring both centers back.
We’ll have to wait and see if that’s the case. For now, all we can do is consider what’s most likely to happen.
Could Al Horford return to the Celtics?
Horford’s future seems almost entirely up to him. He can either opt in for a second season in Golden State, or sign wherever he pleases as a free agent. It feels unlikely that he’d opt in and then the Warriors would turn around and trade him.
If he were to hit the open market, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to believe that the Celtics would show interest. This is just speculation, but his absence was certainly felt as Boston went crashing out of the first round, after they struggled to stop Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers.
Even at 39 years old, Horford still has the ability to impact winning. He came up big for the Warriors in their Play-In victory of the Los Angeles Clippers last month when he caught fire in the fourth quarter.
His production throughout the season as a whole, however, dipped slightly vs. what it’d been the year prior in Boston. Horford averaged 8.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game, while shooting 42.6% from the field and 36.1% from deep.
He also appeared in 15 fewer games, playing just 45 in his 19th season.
Given that Horford seemed to enjoy his lone season in The Bay playing under Steve Kerr, who just signed a two-year contract to remain the head coach of the Warriors, it would be surprising to see him move on.
How about Kristaps Porzingis, would Boston bring him back?
Porzingis feels like the more likely candidate for a change of scenery.
He effectively shared with The Athletic’s Nick Friedel that he’d like to test free agency in early April, a week or so before the regular season came to a close.
"It's hard to say. Of course, it would be nice for me to go ahead and say, 'Yes, I want to continue here,' and this and that. But the reality is I didn't have a good year at all. I barely showed what I'm capable of. And so I have to see what's out there."
Porzingis played just 32 total games this past year. Over the last three seasons, he’s played in just 131 of a possible 246 regular-season matchups due to a combination of injuries and illnesses. Availability remains a massive question mark for the 30-year-old.
Because of that, it’s difficult to gauge what teams will be willing to offer him in the open market come July. There could be a real chance that Porzingis is available on a “prove it” type of deal, where he signs a single season team-friendly contract in hopes of showing he’s still got something left to give.
If there’s a risk-free way to bring him in, maybe on a $6 million contract or less, then it’d make sense for the Celtics to do so. He clearly enjoyed his time in Boston. It was really the only championship-level team he’d ever been a part of and he appreciated the opportunity to contribute to winning at a high level.
When Porzingis was healthy, there’s no disputing how impactful he was for the Cs. His high post presence gave them an added offensive weapon, which helped on nights where threes weren’t falling. Not to mention that he could shoot it well himself.
The former All-Star wouldn’t fix all of the issues Boston had in the postseason, but it doesn’t seem like it’d hurt to see what he’s got.
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