Boston Celtics Rumors: 2 players that need to get traded away right now
Boston Celtics player that needs to be traded No. 2: Al Horford
It’s safe to say that Celtics fans were relieved to see that Kemba Walker was dealt to the Oklahoma City Thunder this past offseason after he had a nightmarish 2020-21 campaign. Walker was a shell of his former self, and the Celtics, although they lost some valuable draft capital, gained some much needed salary cap relief and a player in Al Horford who was already familiar with Boston and filled a position of need.
With 51 games in the book for the 2021-22 season, it’s safe to say that Boston dealt one damaged player for another one. Horford has been wildly ineffective this season, and it appears that Father Time is beginning to catch up to the ever consistent Horford. With a team-friendly contract, the Celtics should be able to find someone to take Horford off their hands, and they need to move him if they intend on getting better anytime soon.
Horford has started 42 games for the C’s this season, but it’s not a stretch to say that he should have been benched in favor of Grant Williams awhile ago now. He’s averaging 10.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game, which aren’t horrible totals, but it’s clear that Horford is not the player he once was. He’s shooting career lows from the field (43.4 percent) and from behind the arc (an appalling 29.3 percent), and he’s generally been useless on offense all season long.
Horford is still a solid defender for the most part, as he has been able to keep stars such as Giannis Antetokounmpo and Joel Embiid at bay in their meetings this season, but he’s too much of an offensive liability to hold onto him for specific matchups at this point. Over his last 17 games, Horford has scored 10+ points just three times. He hasn’t been the player Boston was hoping they’d get from the Thunder this offseason, and it’s time to move on.
Trading Horford and giving Williams his starting spot would help this team take the next step forward. Williams is a solid defender, and he’s been one of Boston’s best three point shooters this season (42.6 percent). It’s a shame Horford’ second stint with the Celtics hasn’t gone as planned, but it’s time to move on from the veteran big man and give the guy behind him a chance to shine.