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

[Denis998]

Has anyone seen any Scalabrine comments on the Horford signing?

[ManUp]

Just looked up Horford's stats and still don't understand why he's a max player.

Dude is a four-time all-star who just developed a three point game recently, which is especially remarkable considering he's a center. His stellar defense is hard to quantify with stats.

Mozgov is making eight-digits per year now, so of course Horford is a max guy.

Being an all-star center in a league void of Centers doesn't impress me.

His production is that of a high level role player.

I'm just scared of that contract turning into a bad one in a couple of years.

[BDeCosta26]

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.

You said that Jackson is our best point guard right now and that Bentil is better than Crowder right now.  No wonder so many people are arguing with you on this thread.

Sigh.  If you're going to attack me, can you at least get your facts straight.  I said that Taurean Prince - not Ben Bentil - was, IMO, already better than Crowder for the reasons that I stated.  I didn't just say that Prince was better than Jae like it was a fact at all, that's what the 'imo' is for . Is it wrong to have an opinion, now?  Geesh.

It's not wrong to have an opinion, but when your opinions are so far out there, you can't be so argumentative and have such thin skin.  I'm not going to look up your comments about Bentil, but at least you admit that you said that Jackson is already better than our NBA all star PG.  Or that you said we should trade IT and Olynyk for Poetl.  Hey, if you just laughed about it, fine, but you have been defensive and argumentative with a bunch of people here. 

To be fair, you generally bring humor here which I appreciate.

Yeah, because they were attacking me as a person as opposed to just arguing with what I had posted.  I don't see eye to eye with everyone all the time, either, but I don't go around mocking them by putting something that they said in my sig and then announcing to the forum about how awesome it is .  That's the difference.   

And yes, I did say both of those things in regards to the trade for Poeltl and about Jackson being better than our point guards, but did you see my reasons for saying that?  I didn't just state it as a fact (and I was actually responding to a point made by crimson, so I didn't just put it out there in the first post of the thread, or anything) - I looked at Jackson's strengths as opposed to IT, Smart, and Rozier, who isn't really a point guard, although neither is Smart, really, and applied them accordingly.  I guess the way that I look at it is that Jackson has all of the best attributes of those players and then some, but again, that's just my opinion.  Here's what I said, for the record -

To be completely honest, I don't want to choose - I want both.

I think Jackson and Rozier both have a higher upside then Marcus Smart, and I see a Jackson/Rozier backcourt being more dangerous then any backcourt with Smart in it.

That's no disrespect to Smart - love the kid.  Just that I really like Jackson and Rozier - they are both explosive athletes who can handle the ball, score, pass, shoot, and get to the basket...and they are both tough kids who play with a lot of passion. 

I'm trying to imagine Jackson, Rozier and Brown coming off the bench this year as our backups at the PG / SG / SF spot.  That could the most athletic bench in the entire NBA.

Oh without a doubt, but especially Jackson, imo.  In looking at his stats and watching some youtube clips, lol , I think he's already the best point guard on our roster, including IT, and I'll tell you why.  He's a much better defender, ball handler, shooter, passer, and can operate off the ball much more successfully, than Thomas, he has superior athleticism, quickness, and decision making to Smart, and he plays with fire but also under control and knows who he is as a player, unlike Rozier.  Here's his 24 point, 4 assist performance at Duke -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmdXw7OJjZs

Tell me, because I know that I'm probably being ridiculous, here, but does anyone else see Jackson as Tim Hardaway, albeit without the signature crossover but the strength, quickness, and athleticism, not to mention the similar shooting form, meets Eric Bledsoe?  Yeah, it's probably just me, lol .

Yeah, I get it - I'm probably wrong, as usual, but at least I made fun of myself in the process as opposed to just laying my opinion out there like it's an indisputable fact or something because I know everything.  Geesh.

OK, honestly I get a little defensive of the team especially on a holiday weekend when I've already had a few.  I already regret butting my nose into this.  Truce?  And no, I don't see Tim Hardaway in Jackson.  I hope Jackson can catch on as a third string PG.

BLA has very "different" opinions than the mainstream around here. Loves his diamond in the rough kind of guys.

That said. A very knowledgable basketball guy who sees the game well and is fun to debate with. He told me once that we should trade IT and start Jackson too. Now, of course that's ridiculous, but it's fun to see what he has to say about one of our new additions, and while he overstates the guy's strengths, you can see why he likes a guy like Jackson as much as he does.

I love having BLA here. I never agree with him much, but it's always good to have differing prospectives, and BLA is an easy guy to get along with.

Long as we all are cordial to each other here, we can have a place where differing opinions are respected, even if not accepted by the majority. That's what I hope for the CB forums anyway.

[Denis998]

Just looked up Horford's stats and still don't understand why he's a max player.

Dude is a four-time all-star who just developed a three point game recently, which is especially remarkable considering he's a center. His stellar defense is hard to quantify with stats.

Mozgov is making eight-digits per year now, so of course Horford is a max guy.

Being an all-star center in a league void of Centers doesn't impress me.

His production is that of a high level role player.

I'm just scared of that contract turning into a bad one in a couple of years.

If you look at potential lineups, Horford provides Draymond Green versatility on the offensive end without sacrificing defense.
IT - Bradley - Jae - Horford - Amir
IT - Bradley - Jae - Brown - Horford
IT - Bradley - Jae -  Kelly - Horford

[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.

You said that Jackson is our best point guard right now and that Bentil is better than Crowder right now.  No wonder so many people are arguing with you on this thread.

Sigh.  If you're going to attack me, can you at least get your facts straight.  I said that Taurean Prince - not Ben Bentil - was, IMO, already better than Crowder for the reasons that I stated.  I didn't just say that Prince was better than Jae like it was a fact at all, that's what the 'imo' is for . Is it wrong to have an opinion, now?  Geesh.

It's not wrong to have an opinion, but when your opinions are so far out there, you can't be so argumentative and have such thin skin.  I'm not going to look up your comments about Bentil, but at least you admit that you said that Jackson is already better than our NBA all star PG.  Or that you said we should trade IT and Olynyk for Poetl.  Hey, if you just laughed about it, fine, but you have been defensive and argumentative with a bunch of people here. 

To be fair, you generally bring humor here which I appreciate.

Yeah, because they were attacking me as a person as opposed to just arguing with what I had posted.  I don't see eye to eye with everyone all the time, either, but I don't go around mocking them by putting something that they said in my sig and then announcing to the forum about how awesome it is .  That's the difference.   

And yes, I did say both of those things in regards to the trade for Poeltl and about Jackson being better than our point guards, but did you see my reasons for saying that?  I didn't just state it as a fact (and I was actually responding to a point made by crimson, so I didn't just put it out there in the first post of the thread, or anything) - I looked at Jackson's strengths as opposed to IT, Smart, and Rozier, who isn't really a point guard, although neither is Smart, really, and applied them accordingly.  I guess the way that I look at it is that Jackson has all of the best attributes of those players and then some, but again, that's just my opinion.  Here's what I said, for the record -

To be completely honest, I don't want to choose - I want both.

I think Jackson and Rozier both have a higher upside then Marcus Smart, and I see a Jackson/Rozier backcourt being more dangerous then any backcourt with Smart in it.

That's no disrespect to Smart - love the kid.  Just that I really like Jackson and Rozier - they are both explosive athletes who can handle the ball, score, pass, shoot, and get to the basket...and they are both tough kids who play with a lot of passion. 

I'm trying to imagine Jackson, Rozier and Brown coming off the bench this year as our backups at the PG / SG / SF spot.  That could the most athletic bench in the entire NBA.

Oh without a doubt, but especially Jackson, imo.  In looking at his stats and watching some youtube clips, lol , I think he's already the best point guard on our roster, including IT, and I'll tell you why.  He's a much better defender, ball handler, shooter, passer, and can operate off the ball much more successfully, than Thomas, he has superior athleticism, quickness, and decision making to Smart, and he plays with fire but also under control and knows who he is as a player, unlike Rozier.  Here's his 24 point, 4 assist performance at Duke -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DmdXw7OJjZs

Tell me, because I know that I'm probably being ridiculous, here, but does anyone else see Jackson as Tim Hardaway, albeit without the signature crossover but the strength, quickness, and athleticism, not to mention the similar shooting form, meets Eric Bledsoe?  Yeah, it's probably just me, lol .

Yeah, I get it - I'm probably wrong, as usual, but at least I made fun of myself in the process as opposed to just laying my opinion out there like it's an indisputable fact or something because I know everything.  Geesh.

OK, honestly I get a little defensive of the team especially on a holiday weekend when I've already had a few.  I already regret butting my nose into this.  Truce?  And no, I don't see Tim Hardaway in Jackson.  I hope Jackson can catch on as a third string PG.

BLA has very "different" opinions than the mainstream around here. Loves his diamond in the rough kind of guys.

That said. A very knowledgable basketball guy who sees the game well and is fun to debate with. He told me once that we should trade IT and start Jackson too. Now, of course that's ridiculous, but it's fun to see what he has to say about one of our new additions, and while he overstates the guy's strengths, you can see why he likes a guy like Jackson as much as he does.

I love having BLA here. I never agree with him much, but it's always good to have differing prospectives, and BLA is an easy guy to get along with.

Long as we all are cordial to each other here, we can have a place where differing opinions are respected, even if not accepted by the majority. That's what I hope for the CB forums anyway.

Hey thanks, TP , and I hope for the same regarding civility.  I realize we don't often agree, but it's great having you, here, as well, and I always enjoy our debates, lol . I'm just trying not to jinx the whole Durant thing, right now, haha, but even if he doesn't come here, which is what I'm expecting, getting a guy like Horford is a huge deal for the franchise regarding free agency moving forward, and even though I don't like Al, I give a tip of my hat to Ainge just for being able to end the the free agency debacle for the Celtics.  Well done, sir .

[mctyson]

Just looked up Horford's stats and still don't understand why he's a max player.

Dude is a four-time all-star who just developed a three point game recently, which is especially remarkable considering he's a center. His stellar defense is hard to quantify with stats.

Mozgov is making eight-digits per year now, so of course Horford is a max guy.

Being an all-star center in a league void of Centers doesn't impress me.

His production is that of a high level role player.

I'm just scared of that contract turning into a bad one in a couple of years.

all of this is ridiculous

[cltc5]

Just looked up Horford's stats and still don't understand why he's a max player.

Dude is a four-time all-star who just developed a three point game recently, which is especially remarkable considering he's a center. His stellar defense is hard to quantify with stats.

Mozgov is making eight-digits per year now, so of course Horford is a max guy.

Being an all-star center in a league void of Centers doesn't impress me.

His production is that of a high level role player.

I'm just scared of that contract turning into a bad one in a couple of years.

My thoughts as well but I think he's a good fit at least for a couple of years

[GratefulCs]

Just looked up Horford's stats and still don't understand why he's a max player.

Dude is a four-time all-star who just developed a three point game recently, which is especially remarkable considering he's a center. His stellar defense is hard to quantify with stats.

Mozgov is making eight-digits per year now, so of course Horford is a max guy.

Being an all-star center in a league void of Centers doesn't impress me.

His production is that of a high level role player.

I'm just scared of that contract turning into a bad one in a couple of years.

enjoy the ride



We improved our roster

[dannyboy35]

I definitely think it would be a bad move if we KNEW Durant wasn't coming here. I do think Horford is declining and while making us better, I don't see us as a contender. The way I see it though, Danny had no choice. We wouldn't have a prayer at Durang without him. You had to risk it and live with the consequences without Durant. It's a downer but I have no problem with it.

[Ogaju]

Mike and Mike reporting that Tito Horford, Al Horford's dad said Al told him that he was swayed by the Boston fans passion for their team. That when they played Boston the fans cheered the Cs on even when Cs were down by 15 points.

[Moranis]

I definitely think it would be a bad move if we KNEW Durant wasn't coming here. I do think Horford is declining and while making us better, I don't see us as a contender. The way I see it though, Danny had no choice. We wouldn't have a prayer at Durang without him. You had to risk it and live with the consequences without Durant. It's a downer but I have no problem with it.

Boston wasn't a contender without him though either.  Signing Horford doesn't look like it will affect the long term ability to sign another free agent and he improves the team.  Unless Boston was going to sell off pieces and go into tank mode, then this is the type of move that had o be made. 

[ManUp]

Horford is a 3rd tier all-star as is Isaiah.

Superstars Tier 1: LBJ, Durant, Curry etc. (Prime KG was here)
Perennial All-stars Tier 2: Lillard, Griffin, Aldridge, Melo etc (Prime Pierce and Allen were here)
Fringe all-stars Tier 3: Derozan, Horford, M.Gasol, D.Green, IT etc (Rondo was/is here)

I pay the top 2 tiers max money no question, but tier 3 I'm not as willing, especially considering age. Paying fringe all-stars max money doesn't seem like a recipe for success. Imo, the signing only made sense with Durant.

[ImShakHeIsShaq]

Mike and Mike reporting that Tito Horford, Al Horford's dad said Al told him that he was swayed by the Boston fans passion for their team. That when they played Boston the fans cheered the Cs on even when Cs were down by 15 points.

Yes, they saw the quotes right after Horford agreed as we all did.

[Big333223]

Obviously I wanted Durant but now that we know he's not coming, I want to get back to focusing on Horford and what he's bringing to the team. Best FA big man, IMO, and a huge upgrade over every big on the C's roster. I'm excited to see what Stevens does with a player that skilled.