The Golden State Warriors have made it clear they were ecstatic with the signing of Al Horford to join their core of Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler, and Draymond Green.
While the ex-Boston Celtics center didn’t officially ink his two-year, $11.6 million contract with the team until late in the 2025 NBA offseason, the Warriors’ front office had Horford atop their free agent list.
Though 39 years old, Horford comes as a key piece to the aging dynasty, a true big man who offers rim protection on defense, and shooting and pick-and-roll help on offense. But as he comes set to aid Golden State in what they hope to be a fifth title run since 2015, Horford almost didn’t join the Warriors.
Speaking with Anthony Slater of ESPN, Horford revealed that if he didn’t win a championship with Boston, he likely would have never joined Curry in the Bay Area. The league’s all-time three-point leader hit a dagger against Horford and Boston to clinch the 2022 NBA Finals, and that, compounded with the potential of him being title-less, the center said he couldn’t have joined the team, and star, that cost him a championship.
“I think it would’ve been too hard for me as a competitor just because of how I operate,” Horford told Slater. “So I just don’t think I could have.”
However, Horford did win with Boston in 2024, so despite Curry’s heroics, it didn’t end up playing a role in his decision-making. He joined Golden State after the team negotiated a deal with Jonathan Kuminga, which took the majority of the offseason.
Insights Revealed On How And Why Horford Joined Warriors
Additionally, Slater’s reporting highlighted Horford’s arrival in the Bay Area. In his article, the insider wrote that though the center wasn’t originally on board with joining the team that beat him in the Finals, by the time this summer rolled around, he didn’t need to be convinced.
“Those on the inside say Horford decided to join the Warriors on his own, no traditional recruitment needed,” Slater wrote. “Green remembers asking general manager Mike Dunleavy later in the summer if he needed to call Horford. ‘You can call him, but it’s done,’ Dunleavy told Green.”
Both Horford and Dunleavy were reportedly on the same page about what issues Golden State needed to fill over the offseason. While Green remains an impactful frontcourt player, the Warriors wanted a traditional big man who could better stretch the floor.
“Mike’s been looking for a player like him his entire time here,” head coach Steve Kerr said. “Not just a pick-and-pop guy, but a legitimate big, who can make Draymond’s job easier, who can make Steph’s job easier. It’s really hard to find those guys.”
The free agent in Horford and the destination team in the Warriors were on the same page about a deal all summer, though one didn’t get signed until just weeks before the season. Horford said while he didn’t completely know what was going on, he had to ‘wait it out’.
“I felt like there was a lot of upside in this thing,” Horford said. “So I just had to wait it out.”
Horford’s Role On The Team Still In Question
While he was the big-name addition for Golden State over the summer, Kerr has yet to implement the center into a major role to begin the year.
It was announced that Horford would not play back-to-backs for the rest of his career just days before the season began. Then, Horford came off the bench for the Warriors in their season opener. They won, but Horford’s 20 minutes are expected to be his relative limit this year.
Most recently, it was reported by Danny Emerman of the San Fransisco Standard that Horford would come off the bench for the team’s matchup against Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets.
The insider followed up that news by saying that, following the back-to-back news, Horford won’t play in the team’s next-day game against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Golden State has Quinten Post and Trayce Jackson-Davis as its other big men to replace Horford, but as seen in the Lakers’ opener, Kerr chose to rely on Green for much of the team’s lead defensive responsibilities.
Regardless of the size of his role, Horford expressed his excitement to join Curry and the Warriors.
“For me, it’s a privilege to have this opportunity and to be here,” Horford said. “They’re so accomplished. I do understand that there’s a lot that comes with it. There’s a lot of challenges. But I’m pretty excited.”
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