Al Horford agrees to 4-year, $113M deal with the Boston Celtics!!

[Beat LA]

Al Horford is basically perfect for this team and addresses one of our greatest weaknesses.  The fact that he added a reliable 3-point shot last season takes it to another level.  He's perfect for Brad Stevens.

He lead the Hawks to 60 wins last season.  He does a little of everything.  This is huge.

If you're luke warm on the move, just watch some Al Horford highlight videos and get pumped.   Everyone loves highlight videos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGAPmPDhMjY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLLLUhXxaVQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMbPu-4lYVU

Dat set shot, tho . TP for the videos, man, although I think that this one showing Horford and Howard outlines both the good and bad about having Al matchup with Dwight, but I suppose that that goes both ways, so yeah -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcgLEY3k5AM

at 3:23 of that video, that for me is the biggest difference between Horford and Howard. Horford just makes "winning plays". He doesn't seem like the type to ever give up on a play. It actually reminded me of that game 7 (I think?) vs Pierce and the Wizards the other year. He swooped in and made the game-winning o-reb and putback.

EDIT: my bad, it was game 5 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffXOza3r3zY)

Yeah, I'm just concerned about the size and athletic mismatch in Howard's favor.  If he ever developed reliable post moves like he demonstrated in this video against Horford, we'd have an even bigger problem, lol .

[Eja117]

I love my new sig guys.

Have you ever seen Prince play?  He's taller, more athletic, can actually score in the post, has a surprisingly-nice step back from midrange, and, like Crowder, has a great work ethic.  It's not as clear cut as you think, but I guess that I shouldn't really be surprised given how you have a tendency to just spew things without doing any research on the topic . What did I ever do to you?

Have you ever seen Prince play against NBA players?

[Eja117]

Hawks fans really despise us after visiting Peach Tree Hoops lol. They still think their current roster can beat us.

Well, had Bradley and Olynyk not been injured I'm pretty sure we would've taken Game 1, and left the Hawks dead in 6 games before getting ousted by the Cavaliers.

Now that we added Al Horford (and a few more to come) to play under Brad Stevens system, this team will demolish the Atlanta Hawks.

It definitely can and probably will, as of right now, imo.

They beat us in 6, but since then weve added Avery Bradley, Kelly Olynyk(basically), Al Horford, and Jaylen Brown while losing Evan Turner. They lost Teague and Horford and got back Prince Howard and splitter(?) Also take into account the fact that we were the younger team and its pretty logical to say we have a superior roster to them at this point.

And none of that even takes into account the fact that Crowder was hobbled pretty badly that series

They didn't "lose" Teague -- they got rid of him because Schroder made him redundant. Other than that, they replaced Horford with Howard. Injuries or no injuries, our roster is not any more superior than it was last season. Probably less.

Is this for real? Did you read the title of this thread? We got Al horford. They lost al horford.

Right. They also signed Dwight Howard. And we lost Evan Turner. We'll probably end up losing other rotation guys, too. Come back to talk when the free agency high wears out.

Teagues a bigger loss than Turner is. I'd imagine that's a fairly uncontroversial statement. Also Sully for Horford is a clear win and since we are dismissing injuries i suppose we have to use regular season records to compare. Both teams won 48 games since then Bostons improved more than Atlanta ergo Bostons roster is superior to Atlanta's

Did you miss the part where they VOLUNTARILY traded away Teague? As in, they didn't want him? That's how much of a loss they thought he was.

You may think that Sullinger to Horford is a greater upgrade than Horford to Howard. You're welcome to your opinion. As I said, come back when the "ohmigodwesignedhorfordz" wears out.

The Hawks had Schroeder and knew they didn't need 2 point guards especially because Teague was coming up to get paid so keeping the two of them would be an inefficient use of cap space. Instead they chose to get a lottery pick which they used to select a SF which made sense because at that point they were at risk of losing Bazemore and their other high minute wing (korver) is 34.

Just because they felt it was best for the long term to trade Teague does not mean it isn't a loss. Surely you can see that. We have cap space and we voluntarily let Turner walk does that mean we won't miss his production? No. Cmon this argument is dumb.

Horford doesn't make us a true contender but he gives us a better roster than the Hawks.

They traded away Teague because Schroder could and has fully replicated his production in the past.

We let Turner walk not because we think an erratic third year player and a 19-year old rookie can replace his production, but because his contract is the proverbial "good intention" on the road to cap hell.

One is a basketball decision. The other one is a business decision. See the difference? SMH.

Are you really claiming that Atlanta will lose nothing by trading Teague for Prince? This seems ridiculous to me.

What seems ridiculous to me is that people think that Atlanta is worse at this point than it was at the end of this season.

Yeah. It's completely ridiculous to think a team got worse just because it lost two all stars.

[Beat LA]

I love my new sig guys.

Have you ever seen Prince play?  He's taller, more athletic, can actually score in the post, has a surprisingly-nice step back from midrange, and, like Crowder, has a great work ethic.  It's not as clear cut as you think, but I guess that I shouldn't really be surprised given how you have a tendency to just spew things without doing any research on the topic . What did I ever do to you?

Have you ever seen Prince play against NBA players?

He's played against a number of guys in this draft and last, iirc, but I'd have to look it up.  I know that he played against RJ Hunter in the tournament in 2015 - does that count, lol?

[JSD]

From page 38 to 42 in this thread is one of my favorite CB Forum memories of all time. We were all defeated.  The despair of losing Al Horford had just started to settle in, after series of Woj tweets. Then BOOM Aldridge drops a bomb on Celtics nation and there was utter euphoria.

I started SCREAMING, "Yeahhhhhhh!" My 4 year old came rushing in, "Daddy what's going on?" Lol. What a good time.



http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85978.630

[Surferdad]

From page 38 to 42 in this thread is one of my favorite CB Forum memories of all time. We were all defeated.  The despair of losing Al Horford had just started to settle in, after series of Woj tweets. Then BOOM Aldridge drops a bomb on Celtics nation and there was utter euphoria.

I started SCREAMING, "Yeahhhhhhh!" My 4 year old came rushing in, "Daddy what's going on?" Lol. What a good time.



http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85978.630

Let's savor that moment.  When I saw the first post about the Aldridge tweet, I forced myself to not get too excited.  There were so many fake reports, smokescreens, speculations turned into facts, etc. etc. that I simply refused to believe it right away.  It took a couple of pages of posts, plus other threads starting before I allowed myself to believe.

[max215]

From page 38 to 42 in this thread is one of my favorite CB Forum memories of all time. We were all defeated.  The despair of losing Al Horford had just started to settle in, after series of Woj tweets. Then BOOM Aldridge drops a bomb on Celtics nation and there was utter euphoria.

I started SCREAMING, "Yeahhhhhhh!" My 4 year old came rushing in, "Daddy what's going on?" Lol. What a good time.



http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85978.630

I was exchanging messages with a friend, and we were not speaking too highly of Al, when I saw the tweet from Aldridge. I was in shock, waited for confirmation from Woj, freaked out, then took back every bad thing I said about Al. It was memorable, to say the least.

[hwangjini_1]

From page 38 to 42 in this thread is one of my favorite CB Forum memories of all time. We were all defeated.  The despair of losing Al Horford had just started to settle in, after series of Woj tweets. Then BOOM Aldridge drops a bomb on Celtics nation and there was utter euphoria.

I started SCREAMING, "Yeahhhhhhh!" My 4 year old came rushing in, "Daddy what's going on?" Lol. What a good time.



http://forums.celticsblog.com/index.php?topic=85978.630

Let's savor that moment.  When I saw the first post about the Aldridge tweet, I forced myself to not get too excited.  There were so many fake reports, smokescreens, speculations turned into facts, etc. etc. that I simply refused to believe it right away.  It took a couple of pages of posts, plus other threads starting before I allowed myself to believe.

Agreed. This has been a good time for the Celtics and CB.

And as an added bonus, we will no longer have to listen to people drone on and on about how Ainge hates international players, and, how free agents will never come to Boston. 

[EvilEmpire]

CBS is reporting another factor that the Hawks did not take into consideration about signing Dwight is that Al did not want to play with him. You would have thought they would have consulted him about playing with Dwight since he was a FA and these elite players little to be included in team decisions.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/horford-didnt-want-to-wait-on-durant-didnt-want-to-play-with-dwight/

[jpotter33]

CBS is reporting another factor that the Hawks did not take into consideration about signing Dwight is that Al did not want to play with him. You would have thought they would have consulted him about playing with Dwight since he was a FA and these elite players little to be included in team decisions.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/news/horford-didnt-want-to-wait-on-durant-didnt-want-to-play-with-dwight/

Haha I was LITERALLY just posting this exact same story. TP.

That shows that Horford is smart. That's a terrible fit, and I'm sure Howard's reputation played into it, too.

[Ilikesports17]

Taurean Prince is already better than Jae? Just when I thought I'd heard it all.

If we had picked him would he still be better than Jae? Or would Danny have made a terrible move since he drafted a guy who projects to be maybe as good as Jae, and hence would be redundant?

My personal favorite was the implication that it our only hope would be to play Jackson and Bentil.

Given that Bentil is an inside-out threat like Millsap, yeah, I think that that we be a good way to offset Millsap's production, and of the guys we have off of the bench, Jackson is the best playmaker of the bunch, especially since we just lost Turner.  Who would you rather have running the offense?  Rozier?  Smart?  Brown?  Ahahaha .

I respect that you disregard the consensus or expert opinion and completely form your own, but surely you can see why some find it absurd to look at a team with 2 all stars a 1 team all defense player, a proven contributor like Jae Crowder and recent top 10 picks Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown and say the two guys who stand out to you are the 45 and 49th picks from a recent draft who have played exactly 0 NBA minutes.

Also I really like Demetrius Jackson but think you are overrating his ability to run an offense. he can run pick and roll, but ND had a pretty disgustingly rigid offense. Could be more the fault of the system,  but still.

[Beat LA]

Taurean Prince is already better than Jae? Just when I thought I'd heard it all.

If we had picked him would he still be better than Jae? Or would Danny have made a terrible move since he drafted a guy who projects to be maybe as good as Jae, and hence would be redundant?

My personal favorite was the implication that it our only hope would be to play Jackson and Bentil.

Given that Bentil is an inside-out threat like Millsap, yeah, I think that that we be a good way to offset Millsap's production, and of the guys we have off of the bench, Jackson is the best playmaker of the bunch, especially since we just lost Turner.  Who would you rather have running the offense?  Rozier?  Smart?  Brown?  Ahahaha .

I respect that you disregard the consensus or expert opinion and completely form your own, but surely you can see why some find it absurd to look at a team with 2 all stars a 1 team all defense player, a proven contributor like Jae Crowder and recent top 10 picks Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown and say the two guys who stand out to you are the 45 and 49th picks from a recent draft who have played exactly 0 NBA minutes.

Also I really like Demetrius Jackson but think you are overrating his ability to run an offense. he can run pick and roll, but ND had a pretty disgustingly rigid offense. Could be more the fault of the system,  but still.

Sure, even though Jackson was taken at 45 and Bentil at 51, as opposed to 49, and as I said in my thread entitled 'Jackson or Rozier', I give Ainge huge props for getting them at those spots, even though they were practically no brainers, imo, but still, I give Danny tremendous credit for that.  Those guys are first round talents, and I was surprised that the Bulls didn't take Jackson, especially after they had just traded Rose.  I don't know how good either of these guys will become, but I like what I see, and as of right now, just based off of what they did in college, I'd say that we got better players at 45 and 51 than we did with any of our first rounders, but I'm probably wrong and I really hope that that will not be the case regarding Jaylen Brown.  I really want him to shine, tomorrow, and the same for all of our guys .  Well, except for James Young, lol .

[EvilEmpire]

Breakdown of Al Horford's 4-year deal:
2016-17: $26,540,100
2017-18: $27,734,405
2018-19: $28,928,709
2019-20: $30,123,014 (player option)

There is no way he is not going to pick up that 4th year but it is a player option year.

[knuckleballer]

Taurean Prince is already better than Jae? Just when I thought I'd heard it all.

If we had picked him would he still be better than Jae? Or would Danny have made a terrible move since he drafted a guy who projects to be maybe as good as Jae, and hence would be redundant?

My personal favorite was the implication that it our only hope would be to play Jackson and Bentil.

Given that Bentil is an inside-out threat like Millsap, yeah, I think that that we be a good way to offset Millsap's production, and of the guys we have off of the bench, Jackson is the best playmaker of the bunch, especially since we just lost Turner.  Who would you rather have running the offense?  Rozier?  Smart?  Brown?  Ahahaha .

I respect that you disregard the consensus or expert opinion and completely form your own, but surely you can see why some find it absurd to look at a team with 2 all stars a 1 team all defense player, a proven contributor like Jae Crowder and recent top 10 picks Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown and say the two guys who stand out to you are the 45 and 49th picks from a recent draft who have played exactly 0 NBA minutes.

Also I really like Demetrius Jackson but think you are overrating his ability to run an offense. he can run pick and roll, but ND had a pretty disgustingly rigid offense. Could be more the fault of the system,  but still.

Sure, even though Jackson was taken at 45 and Bentil at 51, as opposed to 49, and as I said in my thread entitled 'Jackson or Rozier', I give Ainge huge props for getting them at those spots, even though they were practically no brainers, imo, but still, I give Danny tremendous credit for that.  Those guys are first round talents, and I was surprised that the Bulls didn't take Jackson, especially after they had just traded Rose.  I don't know how good either of these guys will become, but I like what I see, and as of right now, just based off of what they did in college, I'd say that we got better players at 45 and 51 than we did with any of our first rounders, but I'm probably wrong and I really hope that that will not be the case regarding Jaylen Brown.  I really want him to shine, tomorrow, and the same for all of our guys .  Well, except for James Young, lol .

It's one thing to like those guys, but it's another thing to state that they are already better than every player already on the team.  Honestly, that's silly and bizarre.  You suggested trading IT and Olynyk for Poetl.  I don't mean to be mean, but you have to be ready to take some sht over those comments and not to get offended by it. 

[Beat LA]

Taurean Prince is already better than Jae? Just when I thought I'd heard it all.

If we had picked him would he still be better than Jae? Or would Danny have made a terrible move since he drafted a guy who projects to be maybe as good as Jae, and hence would be redundant?

My personal favorite was the implication that it our only hope would be to play Jackson and Bentil.

Given that Bentil is an inside-out threat like Millsap, yeah, I think that that we be a good way to offset Millsap's production, and of the guys we have off of the bench, Jackson is the best playmaker of the bunch, especially since we just lost Turner.  Who would you rather have running the offense?  Rozier?  Smart?  Brown?  Ahahaha .

I respect that you disregard the consensus or expert opinion and completely form your own, but surely you can see why some find it absurd to look at a team with 2 all stars a 1 team all defense player, a proven contributor like Jae Crowder and recent top 10 picks Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown and say the two guys who stand out to you are the 45 and 49th picks from a recent draft who have played exactly 0 NBA minutes.

Also I really like Demetrius Jackson but think you are overrating his ability to run an offense. he can run pick and roll, but ND had a pretty disgustingly rigid offense. Could be more the fault of the system,  but still.

Sure, even though Jackson was taken at 45 and Bentil at 51, as opposed to 49, and as I said in my thread entitled 'Jackson or Rozier', I give Ainge huge props for getting them at those spots, even though they were practically no brainers, imo, but still, I give Danny tremendous credit for that.  Those guys are first round talents, and I was surprised that the Bulls didn't take Jackson, especially after they had just traded Rose.  I don't know how good either of these guys will become, but I like what I see, and as of right now, just based off of what they did in college, I'd say that we got better players at 45 and 51 than we did with any of our first rounders, but I'm probably wrong and I really hope that that will not be the case regarding Jaylen Brown.  I really want him to shine, tomorrow, and the same for all of our guys .  Well, except for James Young, lol .

It's one thing to like those guys, but it's another thing to state that they are already better than every player already on the team.  Honestly, that's silly and bizarre.  You suggested trading IT and Olynyk for Poetl.  I don't mean to be mean, but you have to be ready to take some sht over those comments and not to get offended by it.

Hmm, I never actually said that, but whatever, and you're missing the point, entirely, anyway.