Al Horford will face the Atlanta Hawks as a member of the Boston Celtics for the first time on Friday night—a game he’s not exactly looking forward to, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
Al Horford on return to ATL: “It’s very, very weird for me. … It’s just very different. There is no way else I can put it."
— Chris Vivlamore (@CVivlamoreAJC) January 12, 2017
Horford spent the first nine years of his career with the Hawks before bolting for the Celtics as a free agent over the summer. It’s in Atlanta that he blossomed into an All-Star and, frankly, one of the most underrated talents ever.
So, of course it’s going to be weird. It’s always weird for players the first time they return to play a team with which they had longstanding ties.
In Horford’s case, this shouldn’t be an emotionally punishing experience. Indeed, the weirdness of the situation may weigh on him, but Atlanta’s fans, by and large, shouldn’t be booing him. He gave the franchise nine years, and despite leaving for nothing over the offseason, his departure didn’t exactly come under combative circumstances.
It’s the Hawks, in fact, who signed Dwight Howard to play center, Horford’s best position, before getting an answer on his free agency. They tried to keep him anyway, but using him as a full-time power forward runs counter to the direction of today’s NBA.
The Celtics were the better long-term fit. They have tons of picks and prospects to develop, along with a smattering of immediately impactful players, most of whom are on below-market deals.
And with the Hawks now seemingly on the verge of a quasi-reset, it’s become more clear than ever that Horford made the right call.
