FanPost

This Al stuff smh man


So this recent rumor about AL has lots freaked and some excited. I fall considerably towards hell has broken through Earth's crust to surround the Celtics and the Jays with a sea of death and lava. However, the doom isn't absolute and inevitable as of yet. The glimmer of hope is that the Celtics were playing hardball and painted Al's group into the corner, so he had to call their bluff by saying he is going into the market to find a new team.

Whether it was the right move by the Celtics is now irrelevant. What is important is if they can salvage or that their gambit works out. This brings me to evaluating which teams could Al get bids in an effort to find a new contract. The pundits have said that because Kevin Durant's injury is going to leave a lot of teams with money. But I want to figure out which teams actually are realistic. Because, with the rumors he wants four years, this is going to narrow down the teams that are going to be willing to pay, assuming they have enough cap space to fit at least a 4 year $80M contract.

The candidates are as follows: Clippers, 76ers, Pacers, Kings, Lakers, Utah, and Nets. I think there are a couple others but qualify unrealistically because they are rebuilding.

I'll start with the Kings. They are a young team that has a long road. Unlikely to leave for the Kings. Nets: if Irving signs there, would Al follow? Seems like a weird move in my estimation. It would be a step lower than the Celtics. The Pacers could renounce their free agents and pick him up to put next to Miles. But I would be surprised if they opened up their billfolds for an aging veteran; Pacers have to be stingy as a small market. Lakers: they could use Al, but they are fairly stacked with Davis and Lebron; they seem to be looking for another scorer like Irving or Kemba. Utah has a real nice chance to add him if they let Favors and Rubio go. Pairing him with Gobert could be a nice tandem, but going to the Western conference on a fringe team is no sure thing. Clippers seem to be the biggest threat; however, it really comes down to getting Leonard to sign. If he stays in Toronto, the Clippers don't have a reason to add a 33 year old vet that needs lots of intermediate rest. The last team I thought could sign him was the 76ers. Definitely a long shot. But it makes a lot of sense.

Al Horford to the Sixers happens if both Tobias Harris and Jimmy Butler leave. Embiid and Simmons need spacing and Al seems to be a really good spacer for a power forward. His passing would also help, but I think it is long shot because the 76ers are going to be more focused on Harris and Butler.

This leaves a lot of question marks for Al and where he is going to get his better contract. He can get the money but he isn't going to have a better shot at winning. He is relying heavily on Leonard or the Lakers to make leaving reasonable. I think this is why the Celtics played some hardball.

We'll just have to wait until July to find out. I'd love to get some takes on where he could go and what you think is a reasonable offer for Al.

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