The Golden State Warriors will aim to build a true contender to battle their way through a loaded Western Conference prior to the beginning of the 2025-26 season.
Golden State’s general manager Mike Dunleavy has been thrust between a rock and a hard place as the ongoing Jonathan Kuminga saga continues, but his overall mission will remain to supply Stephen Curry, Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green with assistance in the form of skilled veterans with postseason experience.
If the Warriors are strictly looking to add winning players into a winning formula around the dangerous trio, the franchise may look to poach an aging talent away from a former rival.
In fact, recent reports show that the Warriors have emerged as a top suitor to land the Boston Celtics’ 5-time All-Star and floor-spacing big man Al Horford, as the 39-year-old prepares for unrestricted free agency.
“Team sources have identified a stretch center as a high priority,” The Athletic’s Anthony Slater wrote Monday.
“Many in the league continue to link Al Horford to the Warriors as a preferred target.”
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“If the Warriors use the taxpayer midlevel exception (projected at around $5.7 million) on Horford or another free agent, they’ll be hard-capped at the second apron, currently projected at $207.8 million.”
Even as he enters the twilight of his career, Horford remains adamant on helping a team win a title.
Through 60 appearances in the regular season for the Celtics in 2024-25, the versatile center contributed 9.0 points and 6.2 rebounds while knocking down 36.3% of his looks from distance.
Sure, signing Horford for even one more season could be viewed as a gamble, but he’s given no indication that his durability might come into question with age.
After claiming his first NBA title victory with the Celtics in 2024, Horford could now join Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis as a casualty of the franchise’s efforts to cut costs.
If the Warriors were to land the skilled shooting big, it’s plausible to believe that he could pair extremely well with Curry as a pick-and-pop duo.
More importantly, Horford and Green could become a fantastic defensive frontcourt duo.
The 2018 All-Defensive Second Team selection and fifth-place vote-getter in 2018 Defensive Player of the Year voting has remained an excellent defensive option in the paint, as he boasted a 111 defensive rating per 100 possessions and 1.1 defensive box plus-minus in 2024-25.
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