SAN FRANCISCO – The Warriors have lastly made their first free agent signing of the offseason.
Regardless of nonetheless being embroiled in contract negotiations with restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga, Golden State went forward with signing veteran middle Al Horford on Sunday morning to a multi-year deal, in line with Sham Charania. ESPN reported the transfer that the crew has been linked to for months.
Horford, 39, posted a farewell message to Boston on his X profile. he spent seven seasons with the Celtics.
“From the moment we arrived, you have welcomed my family and I with open arms,” Horford wrote. “This chapter in my career will hold a special place in my heart.”
Horford has been one of many league’s most persistently wonderful stretch bigs since coming into the league in 2007. The prolific bounce shooter has shot 37.8% from the 3-point line on a wholesome 3.9 makes an attempt per sport.
Horford averaged 9.0 factors per sport and 6.2 rebounds per sport for the Celtics in 2024-25 whereas additionally exhibiting that he nonetheless had the mobility to protect a number of positions in 27.7 minutes an evening.
He would be the oldest of a veteran-heavy rotation of former All-Stars as he joins Steph Curry (37), Draymond Inexperienced (35) and Jimmy Butler (35) on the win-now Warriors.
Horford is 6-foot-9, 240 kilos and matches the mildew of a middle that the crew has wanted for years. Basic supervisor Mike Dunleavy and coach Steve Kerr each talked about the necessity to discover a middle this offseason as a way to transfer Inexperienced again to the facility ahead spot.
That want turned extra pronounced when longtime Warriors middle Kevon Looney agreed to a two-year take care of the Pelicans on Monday, leaving Golden State with a roster gap.
Horford joins a middle rotation that features second-year stretch large Quinten Submit, who re-signed with the crew earlier than free company started, and third-year reserve Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has proven flashes however was largely out of Steve Kerr’s rotation for the second half of final season.
The five-time All-Star began his profession in Atlanta for the Hawks, who drafted him No. 3 general in 2007 after back-to-back NCAA championships at Florida. He remained there till 2016, when the Celtics signed him in free company as they constructed a contending crew. He left Boston in 2019 to accomplice with Joel Embiid in Philadelphia, an experiment that was short-lived because the Sixers traded him to Oklahoma Metropolis the following yr.
He returned to Boston in 2021 after the Thunder purchased him out, and began for the 2022 crew that confronted the Warriors within the NBA Finals, then crammed a reserve position on the 2024 championship Celtics.
Horford turned accessible when Boston determined to retool after Jason Tatum tore his Achilles tendon within the playoffs, holding him out by means of subsequent season. The Warriors have been reportedly in rivalry with the Lakers to signal him earlier than Los Angeles agreed to a take care of former Portland large man DeAndre Ayton.
