Report: Al Horford did not want to play with Dwight Howard in Atlanta

Al Horford left the Atlanta Hawks for a few reasons, one of which being he did not want to try to coexist with Dwight Howard, according to a report.

Despite reported momentum toward a deal with Atlanta, the only team Horford had played for since being drafted in 2007, he elected to turn down the Hawks. According to CBS Sports’s Ken Berger, there were two significant reasons for this. Horford was, first, unhappy that Atlanta was so reluctant to offer a five year max deal. Second, he was not interested in playing alongside Howard.

“He didn’t want to play with Dwight,” a source told Berger.

Atlanta’s frontcourt was getting jammed up, and Howard and Horford are polar opposites in playing style. In Horford’s mind, Atlanta had made their choice, and it was not him. Besides, he ended up signing with a team that could have a brighter future than the Hawks do anyway.