Veteran forward Al Horford left the Boston Celtics for the Golden State Warriors this summer, a move he admitted he had not initially planned on making.
Horford signed with the Warriors in early October, confirming a rumor that lingered for much of the offseason. The Celtics wanted him back, but Horford admitted that Jayson Tatum’s Achilles injury changed the franchise’s timeline to no longer align with his own.
“I think that where Boston was as a team, even though I called them my home and everything was there for me, they just weren’t in a position to offer me the opportunity that I wanted,” Horford told Nick Friedell of The Athletic.
The Celtics dumped a large amount of salary after the Tatum injury by moving on from Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis. Horford only wants to compete for championships, and those moves indicated to him that the Celtics had a diminished chance of winning one in the near future.
“I think there was a lot of things up in the air — and it just felt like they weren’t in the same, that same vision, obviously, because JT getting hurt, that takes a big toll,” Horford added. “So I think at that point I really had to — up until then I was staying in Boston the whole time.”
The Celtics knew early on that Horford was going elsewhere. Tatum’s injury had a huge impact on their timeline, and the organization seems to essentially be building more for the star forward’s return in 2026-27 than anything else.
The Warriors’ window may be closing too, but they have added Jimmy Butler and now Horford to try to keep it open a bit longer. This could prove to be Steph Curry’s last real shot at a title, so Horford will certainly be on board with the sense of urgency.
