Since the beginning of his career, Al-Hopford has played in 1,005 regular season and playoff games. He intends to let that number continue to grow before retiring, so Horford felt distracted when the Thunder approached him in March last year hoping he would take a complete truce that season to free up playing time for the team's young players.
He was well aware that he wasn't in the Thunder's long-term plans. He was sent to Oklahoma City by the 76ers after the 2019-20 season, simply because Philadelphia wanted to dump a four-year, $109 million contract with him. But he still thinks he'll at least keep playing while he waits for the next finish line. Ultimately, though, he saw this extraordinary dilemma as an opportunity.
"I can only focus on what I can do better and continue to be prepared and keep my body feeling good so that I can hopefully join a team that can make an impact for me," Horford said after the Celtics' new season start on Tuesday.
Even though Horford is no longer playing and will almost certainly not be on the team's roster after the season, the Thunder don't see him as an outsider. Horford has had a close exchange and cooperation with Thunder assistant Dave Bliss. Offensively, they focus on improving their ability to finish under the basket and their ability to move quick shots. On the defensive end, Bliss communicated with Horford about the blocking defensive system that was rapidly evolving in the league.
In a normal season of honing, players' off-court activities are mainly for recuperation and injury rehabilitation. But now Horford has been able to step up his physical training and try new physical therapies.
"Even though they were focused on developing young players at the time, staying in that environment made me feel like I was a young player again. I've learned a lot this season and studied a lot of game footage with them. I felt like I was going through a rookie season again. Horford said.
In a wrap-up interview after the season, Thunder general manager Sam Presti personally told Horford that as the NBA draft approaches, the team is likely to trade him to another team. He also said that even if he could not make any promises, he would do everything he could to send him to a team with championship-winning qualities.
Horford made it clear that Boston was one of his ideal footholds. He signed a four-year contract with the Boston Celtics in July 2016 when he hoped he could help the team win the championship. Horford helped the team reach the division finals in his first two years in Boston, but the momentum came to an abrupt halt after that.
The Celtics were eliminated by the Bucks in the 2019 Eastern Conference Semifinals, and then Horford opted to jump out of the contract, not executing the final-year option, and signed a new contract with the 76ers that the Celtics could not match.
Although Horford did not say he regretted the decision, he said that the time away from Boston made him realize that all he had when he was with the Celtics was what he wanted.
In late June, Horford's agent Jason Glushon called him to say that there had suddenly been some progress in the deal talks with the Celtics. Brad Stevens, the Celtics' new president of basketball operations, was Horford's head coach when he played for the Celtics and has always praised him. He was looking for a way to get rid of Kemba Walker's four-year top salary contract, and the opportunity for Horford to return to Boston came.
On June 18, as Horford was driving home after dinner with his mother in Atlanta, Stevens called to tell him something new: The Celtics plan to pack Walker, the No. 16 first-round pick and the 2025 second-round pick to the Thunder in exchange for Horford, center Moses Brown and a 2023 second-round pick.
"After hearing the news of my return to Celtic, my family and I were screaming and jumping with excitement because I knew what Boston meant to me," Horford said. I don't want to go anywhere else but here. It was only after two years of being out of here and going through so many things that I really realized that. ”
When he signed with the Greenshirts five years ago, Horford was seen as the cornerstone of a championship-winning team; today, expectations and definitions of his role have changed a bit. He's 35 years old, and the Celtics have only made a 36-36 record in the past season, a frustrating process.
Even so, Horford is thrilled that he's about to team up again with former Green Army friends Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Marcus Smart, and Robert Williams.
Horford said: "We were here together from the beginning, made friendships and played chemistry. To me, it was as if I had never left. Honestly, I do feel like I've never left. I'm looking forward to the journey of the new season. ”