Will Al Horford become available by the trade deadline?

[Thunder]

Now, I'm too lazy to look up actual articles but our interest in Al Horford has been documented. Pretty sure we have inquired about him in the past. Normally, I would think Horford would not be available because he is the Hawks best player, in my opinion. But lately, the Hawks have been losing and many games they are just doing absolutely horrible, capped off with a 20 point first half and a 97-58 drubbing last night by the Bulls. It honestly sucks Varejao is injured, because if Horford did become available, a package around a Varejao averaging 14 ppg/14 rpg could probably get it done, and the Hawks fans would not be THAT pissed. Also, Ferry is the GM and I'm sure him and Grant could work out a favorable deal for both sides.

Horford is a winner and a tough player. I'm not one for giving up draft picks but this draft is pretty weak, Irving has blossomed into elite superstar status by his 2nd season, and Tristan is also starting to come into his own. Would a top 3 protected pick and expirings get it done for the Hawks? I know they are going to try to make a splash in free agency after getting rid of the JJ/Marvin Williams contracts, but Atlanta is 3-7 in their last 10 games and have been stuck at the 3-6 seed level for years now. I am hoping for a huge losing streak leading up to the deadline that puts them under .500, which could push management to blow it up. But it's more likely they would look to move J-Smith first and foremost before even thinking about entertaining offers for Horford.

But if we could trade our top 3 protected 2013 pick for Horford, would you do it? What if Ferry demands Varejao with it, even though he is injured? Our lineup going into next season (and the end of this) would look pretty good, and I think any big man we get in the 2013 draft may or may not be as good as Horford.

C-Al Horford
PF-Tristan Thompson
SF- Alonzo Gee
SG- Dion Waiters
PG- Kyrie Irving

Bench: Tyler Zeller, CJ Miles, Daniel Gibson, other FA signings/small trades to bolster the bench

 

[willglam]

Now, I'm too lazy to look up actual articles but our interest in Al Horford has been documented. Pretty sure we have inquired about him in the past. Normally, I would think Horford would not be available because he is the Hawks best player, in my opinion. But lately, the Hawks have been losing and many games they are just doing absolutely horrible, capped off with a 20 point first half and a 97-58 drubbing last night by the Bulls. It honestly sucks Varejao is injured, because if Horford did become available, a package around a Varejao averaging 14 ppg/14 rpg could probably get it done, and the Hawks fans would not be THAT pissed. Also, Ferry is the GM and I'm sure him and Grant could work out a favorable deal for both sides.

Horford is a winner and a tough player. I'm not one for giving up draft picks but this draft is pretty weak, Irving has blossomed into elite superstar status by his 2nd season, and Tristan is also starting to come into his own. Would a top 3 protected pick and expirings get it done for the Hawks? I know they are going to try to make a splash in free agency after getting rid of the JJ/Marvin Williams contracts, but Atlanta is 3-7 in their last 10 games and have been stuck at the 3-6 seed level for years now. I am hoping for a huge losing streak leading up to the deadline that puts them under .500, which could push management to blow it up. But it's more likely they would look to move J-Smith first and foremost before even thinking about entertaining offers for Horford.

But if we could trade our top 3 protected 2013 pick for Horford, would you do it? What if Ferry demands Varejao with it, even though he is injured? Our lineup going into next season (and the end of this) would look pretty good, and I think any big man we get in the 2013 draft may or may not be as good as Horford.

C-Al Horford
PF-Tristan Thompson
SF- Alonzo Gee
SG- Dion Waiters
PG- Kyrie Irving

Bench: Tyler Zeller, CJ Miles, Daniel Gibson, other FA signings/small trades to bolster the bench

I think Hordord would be a great fit! However, no way is he worth a potential Top 3 pick AND Varejao! Maybe Varejao and that Miami pick and some expiring contracts, or just our pick that way we still have Varejao to move if need be.

 

[Ohio]

I like Horford a lot but I'm not giving up our 2013 pick for him.

 

[STAT]

Our 2013 1st round pick is untouchable. Completely. There are but a handful of players that we would/should be willing to give our pick up for, and as much as I like Horford, he's not one of them. Maybe a future first, but not our almost-perfectly-tanked-and-ready 2013 #1.

 

[BigErieCavsFan]

Unprotected? No.
Top 3 protected? Maybe.
Top 5 protected? For sure.

 

[Marcus]

Count me in the boat that wouldn't mind acquiring Horford for the 2013 pick. Horford is a known quantity. He is an All Star center. He is averaging 15.4ppg/9.5rpg on an efficient 52.7% from the field, to go along with a block and a steal per game.

He is a deadly mid range jump shooter. If he's left open, he'll knock it down 9 times out of 10. He's got exceptional ball handling skills for a big man. He's very athletic, very quick. He's got a good basketball IQ and is a very good rebounder. He's also damn good on the pick and roll game.

On the defensive side of the ball, he has the quickness to guard almost any spot on the floor. He's got strength. He's a good post defender and has excellent instincts on the defensive side of the ball, as well.

Only downside I can really see is that he has traditionally struggled defending the pick and roll when he doesn't have a good defensive guard on the floor with him. He really struggled against it when playing with Mike Bibby. Kyrie is obviously not the best defender, but if he can get better on that side of the ball then Horford would have very little weaknesses on this team and the pick and roll defense would not be an issue. He's also a solid man defender.

He's only 26 years old, and is just entering his prime. I would rather take a known quantity, a bonafide All Star center that is young, smart, talented, and just entering his prime (and still growing) as opposed to taking a gamble on some of these players from the draft. No draft pick is EVER a guarantee. I would much rather have someone that has already panned out if the Cavs have that opportunity.

 

[Rich]

The good thing here is the fan base, for whatever reason, is fairly tired of Horford. He gets killed on the blogs.

 

[Marcus]

The good thing here is the fan base, for whatever reason, is fairly tired of Horford. He gets killed on the blogs.

He's definitely not perfect -- in addition to what I mentioned above, he's not very good at creating his own shot, despite his quickness and footwork, and he's been inconsistent in the playoffs (though usually better than worse). I think the fan base is just tired of running on the treadmill and finally wants to take the next step, and they are pointing fingers. If they want to blame anybody, they should be blaming Josh Smith -- all the athletic talent (and not so much basketball IQ) in the world, but he needs to never shoot another jump shot, even though he has improved it bit by bit as time has gone on.

 

[Walter White]

Bigs are hard to come by in this day and age of the NBA, and it is even harder to develop them. If you have an already proven true big like Horford, and you are able to get him....you normally take that deal. But I also personally believe that bigs are overpriced by alot so can he come at a decent price? If he is wanting max money or something, it isn't worth it.

 

[caf]

Id rather have cody zeller or alex len on a rookie contract

 

[Marcus]

Bigs are hard to come by in this day and age of the NBA, and it is even harder to develop them. If you have an already proven true big like Horford, and you are able to get him....you normally take that deal. But I also personally believe that bigs are overpriced by alot so can he come at a decent price? If he is wanting max money or something, it isn't worth it.

He is making $12 million this year.

The thought of him and Kyrie on the pick and roll, of Kyrie lobbing him alley oop passes, of setting him up for open jumpers... wow.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YAsRpdxf32Y" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

That video mainly just showcases his athleticism and length, through a variety of dunks and inside moves. He does have a few jumpshots in it though.

I am very much on the bandwagon, although I know a lot of people won't agree with me. If there's a way to get this guy in wine and gold, and the price is right, pull the damned trigger.

 

[narbar32]

No thank you to Horford if our 2013 pick is required, which of course it would be, unless it's lottery protected, which of course wouldn't be good enough.

I'd prefer the Cavs' just try to sign Paul Millsap or Al Jefferson next off-season instead of giving up a pick, if that's the direction they want to go, though I'd really prefer none of the above.

Horford is nice enough, I guess. He's a good, not great, athlete. More smooth and controlled than explosive, though that's not a problem for him. He's really probably more of a PF, playing center because of Josh Smith, who's only slightly more of a PF than a SF (the Hawks have been sort of weird for years now). I think Horford is "entering his prime" in age more than game. He seems like a player who hit the ground running in his NBA career but plateaued relatively early too. If he's our second best player, even as much as I think Kyrie is / will be better than anything the Hawks have had with him, I still think he's not taking us anywhere significantly further than he's taken the Hawks during his tenure. And if we're giving up a pick, we're sacrificing another, and possibly our last, opportunity to draft another impact player, especially given the effect Horford would likely have on our record next year.

It would be nice to have a player like him on the team, certainly during those nights when our offense looks about as putrid as anything you might see in the NBA, but not nice enough to compromise any significant opportunities we might have to obtain a second true star on this team. And while I could see a frontcourt of he and Tristan working well enough to survive, it's not enough to flourish with the remaining need for premium talent.

Drafting a McLemore, Bennett, or Len if the pick ends up around 4-5, instead of losing it because of only top 3 protection, excites me a lot more than having Horford on this team; while all of those guys could end up never being as good as Horford, their very slight potential to end up much better and more significant than him makes me prefer that route, given the importance of star-level individual talent in this league.

 

["Boobie" Gibson]

Horford for top-3 protected 2013 and Andy.. I definitely do it.

Kyrie
Dion
LeBron
Thompson
Horford/Zeller

 

[Rich]

Hawks have suspended Smith one game for his conduct. Rare is it for a winning team to suspend a star player unless its something major. Just goes to further the point things are getting bad in Atlanta and moves will most likely be made.

 

[Marcus]

Hawks have suspended Smith one game for his conduct. Rare is it for a winning team to suspend a star player unless its something major. Just goes to further the point things are getting bad in Atlanta and moves will most likely be made.

Oh yeah. There's a new sherriff in town and honestly I think that team is going to see some major shake ups unless they miraculously make the ECF or further this year.