Several rival front offices were left frustrated this summer when veteran center Al Horford accepted a two-year, $11.7 million contract with the Golden State Warriors, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported. An Eastern Conference executive told the network the signing “broke our hearts” because Horford landed for roughly $5 million in first-year salary, the amount of Golden State’s taxpayer mid-level exception.
According to Anthony Slater of ESPN, team officials labeled Horford their “1A” offseason priority. Golden State also explored adding Luke Kornet, but the 7-footer secured a richer offer from the San Antonio Spurs, taking him out of the Warriors’ price range. Head coach Steve Kerr said general manager Mike Dunleavy Jr. had been pursuing a true big man who could ease the workload on Draymond Green and Stephen Curry. “It’s really hard to find those guys,” Kerr noted.
The 39-year-old Horford is expected to sit out the second night of a back-to-back on Friday as part of a managed-minutes plan, Windhorst added.
Balancing present and future
Slater’s reporting also highlighted the franchise’s ongoing effort to contend now without mortgaging the long term. Re-signing forward Jonathan Kuminga rather than using him in a sign-and-trade was cited as one example. “We’re not saying, ‘Give away everything because we don’t care what this looks like in 10 years,’” Green told ESPN. “We found a good balance.”
That restraint surfaced last season when Green advised against surrendering a significant package of prospects and picks for Utah Jazz All-Star Lauri Markkanen. “If you want to do something huge, you better be certain it’s the move,” Green said, pointing to Jazz executive Danny Ainge’s track record in trades.
Supersized closing group topples Nuggets
Assistant coaches Terry Stotts and Chris DeMarco persuaded Kerr to deploy a bigger lineup — Curry, Green, Horford, Kuminga and Jimmy Butler — late in Thursday’s matchup with Denver. The unit overturned a fourth-quarter deficit and pushed Golden State to an overtime win, finishing +47.1 in net rating over eight minutes, per Slater. Kerr admitted he initially worried about offense: “Where were we going to score? But they reminded me we have Steph and Jimmy.”
The Warriors will continue experimenting with combinations while monitoring Horford’s workload as the season unfolds.
Source: Hoops Rumors
