Tim Bontemps could be on to something as Al Horford becomes a free agent before the next season begins
Al Horford has been with the Boston Celtics on his second run with the team since 2021. He was one of their top players last season, when the Celtics won the 2024 NBA championship 4-1, beating the Dallas Mavericks.
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And he was right there this season when they had a pretty superb regular season, becoming the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference. They advanced to the Conference Semifinals before getting eliminated by the New York Knicks. And now Horford is a free agent after his latest run with the Boston Celtics this season, so of course, speculations abound about what his future might hold.
ESPN's Tim Bontemps has an inkling of what Al Horford could be doing next
Al Horford has said that he has no plans to retire so soon. The 38-year-old NBA All-Star has been with the
for four years before his contract expires at the end of the current season.
So obviously, a lot of chatter about his immediate future in the league is getting a lot of limelight. Recently, ESPN's Tim Bontemps shared what Horford could be doing now that his tenure at Boston has come to an end.
'Al Horford is a free agent. I don't think at this point it makes a lot of sense for Horford to be back in Boston. Maybe he will be, but given where things are with the Celtics, I think he's now much more in play than he might have been a month ago…Horford is a longtime friend of Karl-Anthony Towns and has played with him with the Dominican National team for a long time.'
The New York Knicks recently got eliminated by the Indiana Pacers during the Conference Finals, where they had been a dominant force so far. They had a historic season this time around, and have impressed many with their stats. So this is no doubt a good place for Al Horford to go to if he decides to leave the Celtics. And of course, his connection with Karl-Anthony Towns, the Knicks center, is also there. So this could be a pretty good move for the Dominican athlete.
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But is this what he wants?
What are Al Horford's future plans?
With his 40th birthday just a day away, Al Horford is looking at a pretty bleak future in terms of his playing career. While he has been a pretty consistent part of the Boston Celtics team so far, his stats have not been what they once used to be, even if he had a pretty positive impact on the team defensively this season. But now that he is a free agent, whether the Celtics re-sign him or let him go is up in the air.
A few weeks ago, while talking about Walter Clayton Jr.
, Horford said to sports broadcaster John Fanta:
'I know that I'm gonna be playing against him next season in the pros. Maybe he'll be with us."
But the uncertainty is on whether he himself is going to stay with the Celtics next season, or the fans will see a change in the playing order. Another thing that could pose an issue is that the
have already had to pay the luxury tax penalty this season and could be looking to repeat it the next season if they don't make some major changes. This could also lead to them either trying to let Horford go or trying to sign him with a massive pay cut. Whether he accepts it or not would be up to the player.
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