Al Horford

Age: 30

Height: 6-foot-10

Career stats: 33.5 mpg; 14.3 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.2 bpg; 53.5/34.0/74.3 shooting splits

2015-16 Stats: 82 games, 32 mpg; 15.2 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 3.2 apg, 0.8 spg, 1.5 bpg; 50.5/34.4/79.8 shooting splits

Strengths:

• Versatile: He can run an offense through the post or elbow by using his above average passing, dribbling, and scoring abilities.
• Passing: Horford is a skilled passer, especially coming from Atlanta’s motion offense. He’s averaged 3+ assists in three of the past four seasons.
• Scoring: Horford is a dynamic scorer, able to put the ball in the hoop efficiently from three important zones: the post, the midrange, and even the three point line.
• Defensive anchor: Horford is a beast on defense, and is getting better every year. He set a career-high in blocks in 2015-16 with 121, and is an expert at maintaining verticality in his challenges.
• Defensive mobility: He uses his above-average athleticism and mobility to cover the floor extremely well. Most importantly, his tools allow him to cover both forwards and guards effectively.

Weaknesses:

• Versatility vs efficiency: With the introduction of a more consistent 3-point shot to his game, Horford’s efficiency suffered as he shot only 50%. In relative terms, though, the 3-point shot is invaluable and smart addition.
• Rebounding: Horford’s rebounding has suffered as a result of his migration to the perimeter. His 12.4 TRB% is the lowest of his career, and his 7.3 rebounds is third-lowest.

Why he makes sense for the Warriors:

It’s mystifying why there hasn’t been more Horford-to-the-Warriors buzz to begin this offseason. On offense, he can fulfill nearly every role that the injury-prone Bogut occupies: he can facilitate from the elbow and dribble through progressions; his scoring skillset is laughably superior to Bogut, including stretch-center potential that could make the Warriors’ Death Lineup even more imposing; he can certainly defend the rim and would actually improve the Warrior team defense through his ability to cover perimeter players skillfully as well as post bangers. While the Warriors excel at using their hybrid forwards and guards to cover bigger players, they struggle to cover guards with bigger forwards. Horford solves that. Between his ability to be an offensive pivot, stretch-center, and versatile defensive center, he seamlessly fits into this team.

Why he doesn’t make sense for the Warriors:

One of the main issues with going after Horford is whether he actually wants to come to the Warriors. Horford is entering his 10th season in the league after spending his previous nine seasons in Atlanta. He is their star, he’s homegrown, and he’s lived in Atlanta with his family all nine years. After being swept by the Cavaliers in the playoffs for the second straight year, Horford gave the Atlanta fans some hope by reiterating his desire to stay: “the biggest thing for me is I feel good here. I have a great relationship with coach… Atlanta is a city that welcomed me from the first day.” But the second layer of Horford’s availability is the money he could command. As a versatile center that can excel on both sides of the floor and stretch it too, he could command a max or near-max contract.