NBA Insider Expects Al Horford to Land Warriors Contract, Leave Celtics in Free Agency

The NBA world is still waiting on Al Horford to make a decision in free agency, and there is still an expectation he will end up with the Golden State Warriors.

"All the reporting is that Al Horford is going to be there," NBA insider Zach Lowe said on his podcast Thursday (35:45:00 mark). "Something is delaying it, I don't know what that is. I expect him to be there."

NBA insider Marc Stein reported earlier this week that the veteran is "destined" to end up in Golden State.

That would be another loss for the Boston Celtics this offseason after they already traded Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porziņģis. What's more, Jayson Tatum is expected to miss at least some of the upcoming 2025-26 campaign as he recovers from the Achilles injury he suffered during the playoffs.

Horford has been a veteran leader in Boston since the 2021-22 campaign and helped the team win a championship during the 2023-24 season. While he isn't someone who stuffs the stat sheet at this point of his career, he stretches the floor with his outside shooting, provides solid rebounding and can still play formidable interior defense when needed.

The 39-year-old would also be a clear fit for Golden State's timeline, considering the Warriors are in championship-or-bust mode with Stephen Curry, Draymond Green and Jimmy Butler as their primary pieces.

That is not the roster of a team focused on the future, and Horford would bring no shortage of experience with 197 career postseason games under his belt.

His outside shooting (37.7 percent from three-point range in his career) would also work well in pick-and-pops with Curry and give the Warriors a more dangerous threat in the frontcourt than Green (32 percent in his career).

It seems like it is just a matter of time before Horford joins the Warriors, which will make them all the more dangerous in a daunting Western Conference.