Moments after the Philadelphia 76ers completed a sign-and-trade of Jimmy Butler to the Miami Heat, the Sixers agreed to a 4-year, $109 million deal with Al Horford, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reports.
Five-time All-Star F/C Al Horford has agreed to a four-year, $109M deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, agent Jason Glushon tells ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 1, 2019
Of course, Al Horford was with the Boston Celtics (the Philadelphia 76ers' greatest rivals) for the last three seasons. In that time, Horford was a major thorn in the side of Philadelphia. He was the certified Joel Embiid stopper who always seemed to cause problems for the entire Sixer team.
Now, Brett Brown's group doesn't have to deal with that. The 76ers will have that elite defensive presence on their side.
Horford is one of the more underappreciated players in the NBA. He doesn't put up the biggest numbers, but can do everything very well. The center has a solid 3-point shot and a good low-post game. Meanwhile, he's elite defensively and a strong rebounder and playmaker.
Most importantly, he's not someone who will demand the ball. He'll be perfectly content not being the main piece in the offense -0 that is something he has shown in the past.
Philadelphia already has Joel Embiid and Tobias Harris, as well as Ben Simmons. The 76ers aren't going to be short on scoring, but will definitely enjoy everything that Horford brings to the table.
Something to think about is how he will spread the floor. Embiid shouldn't be shooting nearly as many threes as he does, and this move should help. Horford can now take the outside position, giving Embiid the paint to go to work more often on the low blocks.
The Philadelphia 76ers definitely made another major splash this offseason with this move. They've snatched up a center from a rival which has given them problems for years. Now Al Horford will be alleviating their headaches instead of causing them.
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