Philadelphia 76ers: Future outlook of Al Horford in Philadelphia
Al Horford’s future with the Philadelphia 76ers is hard to project.
Most of the players on the Philadelphia 76ers‘ roster have already had their future outlook in Philly projected. Some could have bright futures and some no so bright, but Al Horford‘s future in the franchise is easily the hardest to project at the moment.
The veteran big man signed a huge contract with the Sixers last summer and that deal has proven to be a big overpay thus far. Despite being labeled a stretch big for the second half of his career, Horford’s had a hard time doing just that for the 76ers.
This season, he’s averaged 12.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists, while converting 33.7 percent of his 3-pointers. The 33-year-old numbers aren’t good and the eye test for him on the court shows that he’s lost a step, which is bad considering the center was supposed to guard opposing power forwards.
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To be fair to Horford, Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid together aren’t great compliments to his skill set either seeing as both are interior ball dominate players. Still, unless the playoffs prove otherwise, Horford is best served acting as a backup center for Embiid.
If that continues to be the case in the postseason, Philly should try to move him this offseason. I’ve already written about five potential landing spots for the big man, but there’s a chance his trade value is so low the Sixers won’t be able to trade him.
After this season, Horford could owed over three years either $81 million (if the contract becomes fully guaranteed) or $69 million. Despite the fact that Horford still a starting center in the NBA, that’s way too much for a player his age and producing at the level he has been. It’s going to be difficult to find a team willing to take on that type of money.
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It would probably be wise for the Philadelphia 76ers to trade Horford, but it’s going to be hard to find a willing trade partner. Unless the amnesty clause becomes available, it’s hard to predict if Horford is going to have a future with the Sixers beyond this season.