Al Horford had a plan when he left Boston a couple of seasons ago. He was supposed to go to Philadelphia and be a bit of a rudder for Joel Embiid while getting away from the rigors of guarding players like Joel Embiid.
It looked like he’d cashed in on both the contract (which was well beyond what Boston was willing to pay him) and on the court by signing on to a team that came within a couple of bounces of making the conference finals.
It was supposed to go differently.
“For me personally it was a lot of growth. Going to a position in Philadelphia, things not panning out there how they needed to be,” Horford said in his re-introduction to the media. “Then getting to go to Oklahoma City with a team with a lot of questions and a lot of younger guys.”
Horford quickly went from missing piece of a championship puzzle to trade machine fodder, all while playing in front of one of the most unforgiving fan bases in sports. Horford is too measured to say how that year wore on him, but his family’s social media accounts revealed all we needed to know about his relief leaving the Sixers. And while his contract didn’t change, the change of scenery allowed him a bit of redemption.
“One of the (reasons) that I was grateful to be in Oklahoma City was getting the opportunity to show the things that I can do again, to be put in a position where I’m making the most of what I can do and showing what I can do and being able to play at a high level,” Horford said. “Also, almost again getting an appreciation for the game. Sometimes we get so focused on doing things a certain way and almost going through the motions, and over there I just felt like I really was able to appreciate things.”
The Celtics lost Horford in the scramble to recover from Kyrie Irving’s departure, a scramble that included the quick pivot to Kemba Walker. Now it’s Walker who is headed to OKC hoping for the same level of image rehabilitation that Horford received, in a sort of revolving door move that reunites Horford and Brad Stevens.
Maybe it’s fitting that they’re both now in different roles.
“Al can move the needle,” Stevens said earlier this week. Of course, the trade was made for mostly financial reasons, but Stevens added “he just has a wealth of experience. ... When you have the opportunity to bring back a player, person the caliber of Al Horford, who's really excited to be here, it was something that we needed to move on.”
And so Horford is a Celtic once again, returning to a team on its third reboot since his departure. The Kemba-led Celtics didn’t win a title. Neither did the Jayson Tatum/Jaylen Brown Celtics with Walker in a supporting role. Now Stevens will watch practices from upstairs as Ime Udoka runs practices, hoping the Tatum/Brown Celtics can take a step forward with Horford in more of a supporting role.
“Ime’s a great guy. Him and I had a great relationship,” Horford said. “He was always very professional. His views on the game defensively - him and I spent a lot of time talking about defense and coverages and things I feel work and he feels work - and things like that. I’m excited about him for what he brings and how he can help our group. I’m looking forward to supporting him and getting this thing going.”
How Horford supports Udoka is a tricky question. Obviously Horford’s presence lifts the professionalism of the team, adding a respected voice and proven performer to the locker room. Tatum and Brown have seen first hand how Horford changed games defensively for Boston, so his voice carries weight. But how much will Horford, who himself has been managing a knee issue, be able throw his actual weight around?
“Physically, I feel really good. I'm in a really good place,” he said. “Oklahoma City, the medical staff did an unbelievable job with me over there keeping me healthy throughout the year and just continuing to stay in a positive trend. So I'm really excited (about) where I'm at, physically.”
How Horford and the rest of Boston’s bigs are up to Udoka to figure out. The bigs he has to choose from are Stevens’.
“That just becomes a longer discussion without getting into specifics of can guys play together,” Stevens said. “I do think, for instance, Tristan (Thompson's) ability to switch and Tristan’s ability to rebound allows him to play with a spacer like Al, who also has a lot of flexibility. (Robert Williams')ability to play in the dunker and hitting Al in the seams and playing with the lob game gives you flexibility. Those are things we’ll have to figure out. That won’t be as much my decision once those times come, once the roster is set.”
Playing Horford at the four spot next to a center is exactly what didn’t work in Philadelphia, something Udoka saw first hand as an assistant coach there. Udoka might know the secret to making it work, and that might simply be a matter of playing Horford next to a different kind of center. However Udoka ultimately decides to play it, Horford believes he can do what’s asked of him.
“I really believe that I have the ability to play multiple positions still, to be efficient, to be effective,” Horford said. “However coach is going to need me and they want me to play, I’ll be able to do. If we need to go big at times and we need to go with me at the five, I’m totally fine and open to it and I know that I’m perfectly capable to do it.”
Horford left Boston after one of the most disappointing seasons of modern Celtics basketball. He returns after a strong challenger to that crown, albeit for different reasons. Some of the faces are the same, but they’ve grown up a bit since he’s been gone.
He’s now 35 years old, which means the next time he leaves Boston will probably be the last time. He’s hoping that he can do it with the piece of hardware he was hoping for when he showed up the first time.
“I’m lucky enough to get a second shot to be with this group,” Horford said. “I feel like it was a good three years for me, but now we get a fresh opportunity. It’s a huge challenge, I understand, but I know it. But I actually embrace that and I look forward to getting to work with the group of guys that we have.”