Warriors Reportedly Expected Al Horford to Sign Contract Last Week Amid Lakers Rumors

The Golden State Warriors reportedly believed they were set to land Al Horford in free agency last week, though the veteran big man remains on the market.

"What's going to happen with Horford? Golden State expected him to sign last week, he didn't," ESPN's Marc J. Spears reported during Monday's NBA Today. "The Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee and Atlanta I believe are also interested in the nearly 40-year-old guy, who also has retirement on the table. He's still considering retiring, he's not in any hurry."

Horford, if he decides to return to the NBA next season, would make a lot of sense for the Warriors. The 39-year-old remains a solid defensive option, rebounder and floor-stretching big (36.3 percent from three last season, 37.7 percent from beyond the arc for his career).

The Warriors desperately need to add an option at center after losing Kevon Looney in free agency. Golden State has been very quiet this offseason in general, though that has come down to the restricted free agency of Jonathan Kuminga gumming up the works. The Warriors have been afforded some luxury to slow-play those talks—with basically no teams having cap space, Kuminga hasn't had the chance to field potential offer sheets externally, leaving Golden State only to negotiate against itself. Hence the stalemate, similar to situations involving other restricted free agents this summer like Josh Giddey and Quentin Grimes.

The Warriors made their big splash ahead of last season's trade deadline, acquiring Jimmy Butler, so a quiet summer was always expected. Horford would be a nice addition if that comes to fruition, however.

As for a return to Boston, that appears "unlikely" at this point, in the words of Celtics president of basketball operations Brad Stevens. Boston has moved on from a number of veteran players and seem to be taking this opportunity to trim costs and retool with Jayson Tatum likely to miss the entirety of the 2025-26 campaign.

"The only reason I haven't talked about Al is because that’s not final," Stevens told reporters last week. "I could probably talk about Al my whole press conference and not say enough. I don't want to speak in absolute terms until an ultimate decision is made, but (he is) another guy that, if he were to go and play somewhere else, I think, is an all-time Celtic and a winner and did everything he could for this organization."

In the meantime, the Warriors await Horford's decision.