Al Horford’s choice to stay with the Golden State Warriors keeps looking more puzzling by the day.
The surprise started before free agency, when the Warriors handed the veteran center a two-year deal at age 40. But the bigger head-scratcher may have been Horford deciding to remain in Golden State after the team’s first year went off the rails following Jimmy Butler’s torn ACL in January.
That decision looks even harder to explain now. The Warriors opened their season with a 127-105 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, and the Kristaps Porzingis situation has only made the roster picture messier.
From a basketball standpoint, it’s fair to wonder what Horford sees in this setup. Golden State does not look like a championship team, and based on the injuries and what showed up against the Lakers on Wednesday, the Warriors could again be fighting just to get into the Play-In Tournament.
There’s no question Horford may have strong ties with teammates and the coaching staff. But unlike Stephen Curry or Draymond Green, he doesn’t have the kind of deep franchise connection that would make this feel inevitable. For a player in year 20, the question is obvious: why stay with a team that may not offer meaningful games again this season?
The Warriors’ center rotation only makes the whole thing stranger. With Porzingis still out because of illness, Horford is effectively the No. 1 center on the roster. That leaves Golden State leaning too hard on Green and Yaxel Lendeborg for small-ball five minutes, and it puts too much on Horford himself at this stage of his career.
A different situation might make more sense for him. Coming off the bench behind a reliable starting-caliber center for a playoff team would seem like a better fit. The Denver Nuggets, for instance, would check that box if they were looking to improve their backup center spot behind three-time MVP Nikola Jokic.
And Horford’s story with the Warriors may not be finished anyway. If things do not go the way he or the team expected, a trade before February’s mid-season deadline is not out of the question. That kind of move could work for both sides, with Horford landing on a contender and Golden State opening up a little more cap space in free agency if they bring back an expiring contract.
There’s something admirable about Horford wanting to stick around and see this through after last season was wrecked by injury. But this season could easily drift the same way, and that leaves one big question hanging over his future: would he be satisfied finishing his career on a Play-In team at best?
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The Warriors search for a starting center has started to feel more grounded, and Wendell Carter Jr. is a name that keeps making sense on paper. Golden State has been looking for frontcourt help, and Carter fits the kind of player the team has long evaluated as a possible trade fit. His contract structure also gives this idea a realistic lane, especially with Orlando having to weigh its own financial picture while trying to stay in the playoff mix.
Carter has already been on Golden States radar before, and his recent strong showing against the Hawks only adds to the appeal. The challenge, of course, is that the Magic are not in a hurry to strip down a roster that is trying to win now, which keeps any deal from being straightforward. Still, for a Warriors team that has been exploring center options, this is one of the few paths that looks plausible enough to keep watching. [Read more 🡒]
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For Golden State fans, the intrigue is in how quickly a normal matchup can turn into a personal one when young players start keeping score in public. The upcoming meetings should be competitive anyway, but the dynamic between Lendeborg and Boozer now gives those games a little more bite, especially with Boozer still not having answered back. Whether that silence holds or the rivalry finally spills onto the court, this is the kind of subplot that can make a summer league game feel a lot bigger than the standings suggest. [Read more 🡒]
Warriors Linked To A Risky All-In Move For Steph's Window
As Golden State keeps trying to extend Stephen Currys window, the kind of swing-for-the-fences trade idea that inevitably circulates around the Warriors has started to take shape: a speculative proposal to bring Zion Williamson into the fold. The logic is easy to see from the Bay Area side. Williamsons ability to create points around the rim would give Curry a very different kind of running mate, and it would signal another aggressive push to maximize the present rather than wait around for a softer reset.
The price, though, would be steep, with the framework sending out Draymond Green, Kristaps Porzingis and a protected first-round pick. It is the sort of deal that would force both teams to stare directly at risk and reward, because Williamsons availability has long been the biggest question attached to his talent, and Porzingis comes with his own medical concerns. For New Orleans, the appeal would be in the return package and the flexibility it could create, but for the Warriors, any all-in move like this would come with the same underlying test: how much future is worth sacrificing for one more chance with Curry. [Read more 🡒]