Milwaukee Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer can sympathize with fellow colleague Brad Stevens upon the loss of Al Horford in free agency, a quality player that turned down a beefy $30.1 million of the last year of his deal to seek out a long-term extension away from the Boston Celtics.
Only a few days since opting out of his contract, Horford inked a four-year, $109 million deal with Eastern Conference rival Philadelphia 76ers, a wound that has yet to close for Stevens.
“It’s hard,” Budenholzer told Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald. “It’s definitely probably the hardest moment for me and just a relationship with a player. But these guys earn the right to be free agents and make decisions and go where they feel like they have the best chance for themselves individually and team-wise and family-wise.
“I will always respect Al in his decisions and how he’s handled himself. He’s nothing but a pro and just somebody I have a ton of respect and admiration for.”
Stevens not only lost a staple in the locker room, but also a quality veteran whom he based his system around for two of the last three seasons, choosing to run his offense through Kyrie Irving in 2018-19.
The Celtics lost more than Irving in free agency, missing out on Horford and backup Terry Rozier — getting Kemba Walker in return in hopes to keep momentum alive moving forward.
Budenholzer lost Nikola Mirotic to Barcelona most recently, and while he didn't have the same rapport as Horford and Stevens did, it's still a loss that requires re-thinking before pivoting to make a different acquisition.
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