OFFICIAL: Golden State Warriors Will Sign Al Horford On TWO YEAR DEAL

OFFICIAL: Golden State Warriors Will Sign Al Horford On TWO YEAR DEAL

Yo, it took until September 28th for the Golden State Warriors to dip their toe into the free agent market, but they’ve added their first player, Al Horford. We’ve known it for a minute. We still don’t know the details, but what he brings to Golden State. We’re talking about that on today’s program. You are Locked on Warriors, your daily Golden State Warriors podcast. What are they going to say now? Part of the Locked On podcast network. Your team every day. [Applause] What’s the good word everyone? Welcome to the Lockdown Warriors. We’re part of the Lockdown Podcast Network, your team every day. We’re free and available wherever you get your audio podcast. You can check us out on YouTube. All the support we can get is very much appreciated. And it’s as simple as hitting that thumbs up, hitting that subscribe, and if you enjoy the show, telling a friend to tell a friend. Today’s episode’s brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new customers can bet just $5. If your bet wins, you’ll get $300 in bonus bets to use across the app. Download the FanDuel app today by visiting fanduel.com to get started. My name is Charlie Walter. I cover the team for 957 the game in the past. Also on TV for CBS News Bay Area in downtown San Francisco. On the program today, we’re getting into the Warriors first free agent signing. Al Horford has joined the ranks of Golden State. We’ve known this for a minute. We do know that it will be a multi-year deal. All the details have not been finalized, but you would have to imagine that with the Warriors making this signing public, dotting the eye, and crossing the tea, that the Jonathan Kaminga holdup is sorted one way or the other behind the scenes because they waited this long. And something tells you that there is news to be had very soon with Warriors Media Day on Monday the 29th. But as of the 28th, Al Horford joins the team. Now, this is a a weird situation to where we’ve been talking about Al Horford as if he’s going to be a part of this roster the entire summer. I’ve been looking for content and Al Horford has been a piece of content. So, we’ve had on guests, we’ve had really detailed breakdowns, but I think the best breakdown we got was from John Carales of Locked on Celtics, considering he’s watched all his games in previous seasons, including the last game that Al Horford had previously played for Boston. So, I want to get a take on what he brings to the table. I’ll start with just uh defensively and also from the standpoint of his age and how much he’s going to play, what we should expect, all those things. Um here’s John Corales’s take on that. So I I I think that Al is in the regular season still he he he is a little bit of a pick his spots kind of guy. if he if he likes the matchup, if it’s like a matchup he’ll get up for, then you’ll see him kind of dig and like he again he’s strong and so if somebody wants to put like Joic, right, he’ll he’ll go at Joic and he knows how to defend Jokic to a degree as as much as Jokic can be defended. But my point is a marquee matchup like that, he will he will get up for that. in a lesser matchup. I think Al understands at his age, you’re going to make some business decisions. So there there will be some plays over the course of the regular season where you might say, “Oh, Al could have gotten that or he, you know, he he needs to give more effort to get that.” In a playoff series or in the big games, you will see him make the effort to go get that. just not going to be as consistent all the time. But he he understands what the game needs. He’ll give the game what it needs and he might pace himself for three quarters and if it’s a close game in the fourth, he’ll pick up the energy and and those business decisions business decisions are different in the fourth quarter. So, he can still protect the rim. He’s not he’s not jumping quite as high. uh he’s not an elite shot blocker, but he can come over from the help side and and do a good enough job. And like I said, if he’s up for a matchup, you’ll see him make a couple of plays where you’re like, “Wow, that he’s how old?” So, it’s not exactly like LeBron 40. Yeah. But yeah, it’s it’s uh he’ll he’ll defy his age from time to time. The nice thing about hearing that Horford isn’t going to be up for every night is that the Warriors have players like Quinton Post and Trace Jackson Davis. And TJ D got relegated to the bench a little bit last year, especially late in the season, but once the playoffs came, specifically the series against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he added some size and looked like he could hold his own in that series. Look, you don’t need a ton of productive minutes from Trace Jackson Davis if Al Horford’s your starting center and Quinton Post is your backup center. But on those load management nights, especially nights that Horford may not have it, injury nights to a Horford or a Post, it is nice having that backup to the backup option that is Trac Jackson Davis and has proven that he’s at least a serviceable big in the association. There’s a reason why he’s still on Golden State. Um, Cavon Looney, who had his moments last season and I thought played excellent in the moments he was given in the Houston Rocket Series, is now a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. So, that’s a big body that the Warriors do not have. But from beginning of last season to end of last season, I would say there were each moments that Cavon Looney/trace Jackson Davis provided some of the things that the Warriors were looking for. And you would hope that the addition of Al and the exodus of Cavon Looney is not a net neutral. You would hope it’s a net positive because if not, that hurts for Golden State. They they need Al Horford to be better than Cavon Looney was. And he will be better if he’s healthy. Now, how much will he play minutes wise per game? What’s he have left in the tank? Here’s John Carales’s answer on that. Where, you know, I wouldn’t go like 30 minutes or anything like that. You I wouldn’t play him on backtoback. you you do have to like I think if you if you look at it like a glass of water, you know, there’s there’s there’s only so much water in the glass for a season and you have to conserve that, right? But if you leave enough in there, you’ll have enough to drink in the playoffs. It’s just you can’t push it. You you you have to I think the 20 25 minutes is the limit. Um but he will look again he’s a he is a student of the game. He he understands. He’s been around for a long time. He is uh incredibly professional. He will come in and he’ll be consistent about he’ll get to the facility at the same time. He will go through his treatment. He will go through everything that he needs to go through. It’s very kind of standard. You can set your watch by Al Horford. And I think that’s the type of guy that kind of Steve Kerr is going to love this guy. Uh the players are going to love this guy because he’s he’s just about what do you guys need? He’s past the point where he needs anything. He’s happy. Like two shots, I’ll take two shots. 12 shots, no problem. All threes, no threes, whatever it is. He still can get down and bury his shoulder and and and make some moves. He can get into the post sometimes. That’s fine. But I think he he is more of a perimeter player. But short roll, rolling to the rim, popping out to the three, all of those things are there. The passing is still very much on point. Uh offensive execution, he’s a very smart guy. He’ll get it. Defensively, he’s a great anchor to the defense. He’ll he’ll be there. Uh he’ll learn the terminology pretty quickly and and he’ll be a great anchor to the defense, especially, you know, when you’re dealing with Draymond and what he does for the team. I think the the key is Al just the drop off from Draymond to Al is not as great as you might think a guy that age might be and stylistically it’s not like you’re bringing in, you know, a big plotting guy that can’t you you’ve got a guy that can do a lot of the same stylistic things. Man, he hit all the buzzwords right there. It sounds like just what the doctor ordered. You get a little short roll action to where you know he’s going to fit into the offense. We may have even heard some pick and pop in there. Um, in terms of IQ, student of the game, knows what he needs to do, is going to accept his role. Steve Kerr is going to love him. The list goes on and on of things that you like about Al Horford. Really, the the negative that we point to is just history says that a dude at 40 is not someone you give a multi-year deal to. And based on the way he’s played in recent years and and based on the number of games and the durability that he’s had, number of games he’s played, durability he’s had, that that’s just you’re pointing to statistics at that point because the eye test still says that he could play an effective role and especially for the contract that you would imagine he’s going to get. Now, that’s still being finalized, but the sources have told ESPN that Horford has agreed to a multi-year deal with Golden State. All right, let’s get to more on Al Horford, what he’s going to bring to this year’s Warriors team. This is Locked on Dubs. Today’s episode’s brought to you by 5Hour Energy. 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It means you wear more and you wash less. And they got CoolMax technology that regulates your temperature and wicks away moisture. But why listen to my words? It’s right there. Give yourself a try and a deal. 567 Hay Street in Hayes Valley for the store. Locked SF is our code. You’ll get 15% off. Or shop online at shopdoer.com/lockedonssf. I promise you once you try them, you will not go back. That is doer dur. Now, from a man that watched Al Horford every single night a season ago, what is one aspect of his game that doesn’t stand out to to many? You’re not going to see it necessarily in his highlight tape, but he does bring to the floor that maybe the Warriors did not have at that center position beforehand. The answer, switchability, versatility defensively, and decently quick feet for his size. Here’s John on uh the most underrated part of Al Horford’s game. You know, I’ll I’ll say his ability to switch is is still under like again, you don’t want him to do it that often, but you can target you can target him if you want. He’ll hang. So if if a guard if I don’t know, Anthony Edwards wants to call for the switch onto Al Horford, Al is still good enough to to hang and smart enough to get to where he needs to be. He understands the scout. He understands what this player is trying to do. He knows tendencies. He understands time, score, situation. he can he can think his way to success uh being able to switch. So, we know he’s he can be a great shooter. We know that he’s a great passer. We know that he he offensively can fill a lot of gaps um off the bench just defensively switching on to guards. There’s going to be a game or two early on where you’re going to be watching. You’re be like, “Oh my god.” you’re going to get on to this podcast and be like, “I can’t believe Al Horford did that for three straight possessions.” Like, that’s going to be something that you’re going to say. Um, and and I think that’s something that it’ll be fun. Again, he is his age. He is 40 almost and like he’ll it won’t always go great, but he’ll it’ll it’ll go well enough times you’re like, “Wow, okay.” It’s, you know, you you’re okay doing it. It’s not a panic to scram switch and and like recover. You’re just like, let’s try to rotate out of this, but it’s okay for, you know, a minute here while we figure things out. I want to run through the exact wordage of what the deal says as of the 28th Sunday of September at about 11:00 Pacific time. And this broke um a couple hours ago, but Anthony Slater saying Al Horford was the veteran stretch center the Warriors targeted early in free agency. We know that business does still need to get sorted out with Kaminga to finalize the exact contract, but he is a multi-year part of their plans. I don’t know what has all switched since a couple of days ago. Um because this is kind of the same wording we’ve had for a while now. It’s just being reported now that uh he is committed to a multi-year deal. Retirement’s no longer on the table. Let’s finalize this deal. But Al Horford multi-year part of Golden State’s plans. This is per his agent Jason Gushon. Seven of the past nine years was spent in Boston. Horford won the 24 title, will enter his 19th season in the NBA. and he will enter this season as the Warriors starting center as of right now. So, the plans of Draymond Green not being the Warriors starting center have finally come true. Steve Kerr said in the offseason, “We don’t want to do that unless we have to, and now you have options.” So, how do we feel about the two-year deal and how everything lines up? Here’s John. I don’t think you can go wrong with two years. Um, just knowing that, knowing what Al does to get ready. Um, I mean, we treat him like he’s 60 years old. He’s still like not 40 yet. And I know that’s ancient in the NBA, but not anymore. It’s not. You know, I know, right? But I’ve seen I’ve seen him, you know, I know what he looks like. Um, that dude is in shape. He is uh he’s always doing the work, right? He’s just he’s never cutting a corner. He’s he’s conscious of everything. He’s conscious of what he eats, what all of that stuff, the he follows the the plan and it hasn’t failed him yet. So, an extra year, why not? Like, I I just think the key is obviously you you you got to treat him, you’re not putting him in bubble wrap, but you should not play the backtobacks. If you want to play Draymond in one and Allen in another and try to maximize both over the course of a regular season, then that that he can do that for you. Um, you don’t want to overdo it, but he can do it. He he’s a guy that can give you a give you more than you would expect. So, two years at, you know, 10 million, 11 million, especially in with today’s salary cap, peanuts. It’s it’s it’s worth the shot. Yeah. Straight ahead, the final thoughts on Al Horford, what he’s going to bring to Golden State, then it’s moving ahead to maybe some real quotes on Al Horford because that’s what this signing allows. Steve Kerr, company, now we’re going to be asked this question on media day. They’re going to answer this question on media day. The Jonathan Kaminga contract situation. Will that be sorted out before Monday when the Golden State Warriors talk at the podium? They bring everyone up there. We hear from every member of the Warriors. Season is just about here. We’ll tell you the preseason plans and everything that’s coming up on Locked on Warriors. Check out America’s number one sports book. It’s the best place to be for NFL season. 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Bet on the quarter. You got player props. You have overunders. You have futures bets that you can watch, you know, basically water the grass for a few months and hope that that thing hits. You can cash out at any time if your odds get even higher and you like that ordeal. So, what are you waiting for? Visit fanuel.com to download the FanDuel app today and get started. Surely there’s got to be a downside to this aside from just risk that is attached to age. What’s it a negative of his game? What’s something that’s going to annoy Warriors fans about the play from Al Horford? I wanted to know this. The only thing that’s going to that’s going to bug people is is his his tendency in the regular season to kind of pace himself. Um cuz he knows like November against the Jazz, you might as well sit him in that game cuz he’s not going to go out there and bang. He’s not going to go out there and give everything. He’s not going to and and he shouldn’t be expected to. Um like he he will make a decision. He’ll make a business decision from time to time. and you’re like, “Oh, he might have been able to get there, but he’s he’s not going to risk something knowing that there’s a bigger picture that he’s trying to play into June.” And, you know, like his birthday is in early June. He wants to be he wants his season to still be around when he’s celebrating his birthday. So, that’s only happened uh once for him. So, and that’s when they won the championship. So, um, and the big 40 this year, too. I mean, that was Yeah. So, you you just you you if you’re if you’re inclined to be annoyed by like, ah, okay, he gave up that layup. He didn’t exactly, you know, work his butt off there. There’s going to be the occasional play, especially against bad teams, that that’ll happen. But it’s I I hope people in Golden State appreciate him like I appreciate him cuz like I said, I hold him in the highest regard. He’s he’s he’s the ultimate NBA professional. Um in a way, I’m kind of happy that another fan base gets to appreciate Al Horford because uh the last time he left that wasn’t the case. the people in Philly. The again, it says a lot more about Philly than it does about Al Horford because he’s been great everywhere else he’s been. You don’t have to change as much when Draymond’s off the floor with Al. Like, it’s it’s not the same, but he’ll he can you can run a lot of that same stuff through Al. Al can make a lot of those same decisions, a lot of those passes, a lot of those plays. Uh, obviously, again, not the same defender that Draymond is. Draymond is quicker. Um, but you can the drop off isn’t the same, right? The the stylistic change isn’t, you know, isn’t as drastic. You you can kind of and and and frankly, obviously, we all know when Draymond hoists them, it’s just uh hope and pray. It’s a little bit more accurate with Al Horford out there. So he can go out there, he can play double big, he can play single big, he can be whatever you need him to be. Um, so obviously very I hold Al in like the highest regard. That is going to do it for the program today. Golden State’s preeason starts extremely soon. We’re finally adding to the roster and we have real basketball on TV coming up October 5th, a week from Al Horford signing. The Warriors will be taking on the Los Angeles Lakers at Chase Center. That’s a 5:30 Pacific time game. It’s on ESPN. Then an NBA TV matchup on the 8th, that is Wednesday, the 8th of October against Portland. Then it’s the Lakers. Then it’s Portland again. Then they finish things off. to the Warriors with the LA Clippers on October 17th. We get things tipped off for real, October 21st. And remember, the Warriors won every single preseason game last year. So, they have been the heroes of the preseason for a minute now. And October 21st is when they tip things off at Crypto Lakers. It’s on NBC. We’re back. NBA on NBC, everyone. uh fired up to say the least about NBA season getting ready to start media day down at Chase Center Monday the 29th. What will happen with Jonathan Kaminga? We should find out soon. October 1st is that decision date, we believe. If not, who knows? We’re not even going to debate what’ll happen at that point. Surely something will be done on that front. maybe even as soon as you listening to this podcast and this is all moot, but uh the the storyline on this Sunday, not NFL, it’s Al Horford, the big time addition for Golden State. Um at the very least, based on what he’s likely going to be paid, he’s about as good as you could do. And he’s at a position of need. He adds some shooting. I am not angry about Al Horford. I don’t think you should be either. Definitely risky, but um low risk and decent reward for someone like Al Horford and a guy that’s played a long time in this league. This is Lockdown Warriors. We’re part of the Lockdown Podcast Network. Appreciate you for joining. We’ll see you soon.

The Golden State Warriors make a not surprising move, signing Al Horford to multi-year deal. Is this the veteran presence Golden State needs to contend? Charlie Walter breaks down the Warriors’ latest acquisition, exploring Horford’s defensive prowess and how he fits into Steve Kerr’s system. Key topics include Horford’s ability to guard elite big men like Nikola Jokic, his expected minutes and role, and the financial implications of his contract. Will Horford’s addition be the missing piece for a deep playoff run? Tune in for expert analysis on how this move reshapes the Warriors’ roster and championship aspirations.

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