What Would Al Horford Provide For Golden State Warriors?

What Would Al Horford Provide For Golden State Warriors?

Just how much should Warriors fans be expecting from Al Horford this upcoming season, assuming he’s on the team? We went straight to the source. Locked on Celtics, John Carales joins the program. Tells you everything you need to know about Ageless Al. 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 is the good word everyone? We appreciate you for making Lockdown Warriors a part of your day. Free and available wherever you get your audio podcast. You can also check us out on YouTube. If you’re hanging out with us, hit that thumbs up, hit that subscribe. We very much appreciate it. Today’s episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Football season is around the corner. Visit the FanDuel app today and start planning your futures bets right now. On the program today, we get into a little Al Horford talk with locked on Celtics host John Corales, who’s watched Horford just about every minute in a Celtics uniform. Says that Celtics fans are going to miss him. Um, especially with their front court situation they have right now. But Al is looking for other opportunities it sounds like and it sounds like he’s found it. the Golden State Warriors pending the Jonathan Kaminga situation, which we’ll also get into in this show as reports are now saying that sounds like he may actually take the qualifying offer. Reports have been wrong. They’re they’re usually wrong. I don’t think he’s going to take the qualifying offer. I will tell you why. Plus, DeAnthony Melton, could he have his moment this season for the Golden State Warriors? And by moment, I mean just getting back to form, reestablishing himself as a really good NBA player. We’re going to discuss all these things, but first up, it’s John Corales from Locked on Celtics. More on Al Horford. What is his rim protection like? Because just from watching a lot of the clips of Al Horford, really good at sliding his feet on the perimeter, making it tough for even some, you know, 65 wings and and some point guards at times. like I’ve seen video of him giving um some of the Cavs young guards Darius Garland some issues a season or two ago down low perimeter like what what kind of can Warriors fans expect as a whole defensively for so I I I think that Al is in the regular season still 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 p 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 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. It’s 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. It sounds like the way that he’s being described, two two words come to mind, I guess, a phrase. Student of the game, and then malleable is another one. Um, Steve Kerr loves those types of players that kind of take on their role and give you everything that a coach is asking for. What do you think his role will be? Will it be similar to Boston? Step out, hit the occasional three, play great defense, give you 25 minutes, or is there maybe even a little more in the tank than we’re giving him credit for? Yeah, I I mean, I wouldn’t push it where, you know, I wouldn’t go like 30 minutes or anything like that. You I wouldn’t play him on back to back. So 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 gonna 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. 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. It’s a fascinating discourse based off I mean you’re looking at what Jonathan Kaminga has kind of ran into this off seasonason and some of the comments that Steve Kerr said about him uh during some of his radio tour programs this summer where he said you know we need Kaminga to swing the ball. We need Kaminga to do what we’re asking him to do. He’s a extremely talented player but the way that he’s playing right now it’s not necessarily the way that we need him to play. So it is kind of like the antithesis hearing about Al Horford. someone that’s going to come in, doesn’t care about stats, doesn’t care about scoring, may not even care about money at this point. He just wants to come in and play winning basketball. What’s the most underrated part of his game? Okay. uh underrated. I think I 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 going be like, “Oh my god.” you’re going to get onto 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. What’s a part of Al Horford’s game that may irritate Warriors fans? John gives us his answer. That’s coming up on Locked on Warriors, plus D. Anthony Melton’s moment. Jonathan Kaminga on the qualifying offer. That’s all ahead. And most importantly, he a dog. We need more dogs. Today’s episode’s brought to you by America’s number one sports book, that is FanDuel. And get out your calendars and mark down August 26th because it’s officially FanDuel Futures Day, a brand new holiday for football fans who live for bold predictions and preseason hunches. For just 24 hours, FanDuel is giving you deals on NFL season predictions. So whether you’re calling your MVP, eyeing a longot division winner, or ready to crown your Super Bowl champ before week one even kicks off, this is your moment. So take a flyer on the MVP race. You like Josh Allen, you like Joe Burrow, maybe it’s Jaylen Herz, Brock Perie that gets it done. Crown your champion in August. Niners, Raiders, Steelers, Packers. Who’s it going to be? Visit the FanDuel app today and start planning your futures bets now because futures day is one day and one day only. It’s August 26th. FanDuel, play your game. We think there’s a deal in the works. We have no idea what it looks like in terms of duration. If you were sitting in Mike Dunlevy’s spot right now, would you line him up with Curry, with Draymond, with Jimmy, two years, or would you give him a one-year deal? How much you think he’s got left in the tank? 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 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. Jimmy Butler, when you talk about last one for you by the way, when you talk about players tendencies and certain things that irk you as a fan watching every single game, like even Steph Curry just, you know, throws the ball all over the place. Draymond Green does the same thing. Jimmy Butler passes up five foot shots. Buddy Healed, he’s got plenty of things that we have issues with. Every player has something that irritates you about them. What does Al Horford, who’s stoic and kind of consistent, like what’s that one thing about his game that sometimes you watch as a fan, as a podcaster, and say, “Al, what are you doing?” You know, I’m going to challenge you on this because Al doesn’t irritate me. He hasn’t irritated me. 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, 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. 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 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. John Carouse, you can hear him on locked on Celtics and thank you for all the tips on Al Horford, everything that the the scout, everything we should be looking for. Unfortunately, we don’t know 100% if he is a warrior, but uh this is information that’ll be useful when hopefully, fingers crossed, that day does come that he ends up on Golden State. So, thanks for joining. Let’s figure out Kamingo for God’s sakes, please. It’s taking a long time, man. All right, John. Thank you. With the Anthony Melton, it’s a completely different story now. He should probably be load managed as well, sitting out back to backs, things like that until at least later in the season. We only got six games of DeAnthony Melton a season ago for the Warriors. In those six games, he averaged 10 points, shoted 37% from three, was just really good. I mean, he doesn’t really turn the ball over that much. Uh, grabbed some rebounds, had some assists. Uh, overall just, you know, gave you 10, five, and four any given night he was out there. And that’s kind of what he’s been throughout his career dating back to his 21-22 season in Memphis where I’m sure the Warriors fell in love with him when they played the Grizzlies in the playoffs and and Melton had some good games in that series. That was the last I guess he was healthy in Philly that the the next year, but he was healthy in Memphis that 2122 season where he played in 73 games, was eighth in six man of the year voting, averaged 10 points per game, shot at 40% from uh 37% from deep. Only shoots 41% from the floor for his career. So, not necessarily the most efficient shooter in the world as a guard. a couple seasons has shot below 40% from the floor, but he doesn’t take a ton of shots. He averages about seven shots per game for his career. Um, actually upwards of eight. But he’s a very effective role player for the Warriors. And if you’re getting him on the vet minimum, which I imagine the Warriors will, that’s a hell of a deal. someone that has everything to prove that wants to really work his way back into an NBA rotation long term. Get himself a multi-year deal to where a team believes, maybe it’s the Warriors, a team believes in him for multiple years that he can be someone that’s worth giving him, you know, a mid-level exception to, giving him $12 million or whatever per season because we’re only talking about offense. Defense is the name of his game. good point of attack defender. Has a very long wingspan for his size at just 6’2, 200 pounds. He’s quick. Now, how much has injuries affected his burst? We’re about to find out, but he was playing really nice defense to begin last season. Granted, he’s had an ACL injury since. We truly do not know what DeAnthony Melton’s going to give the Golden State Warriors if he is on the team this upcoming season like all reports have indicated. But one thing that’s certain is he is a great boow candidate to have a pretty good season next year for the price tag that he has. And the Warriors who are in a precarious spot where they literally have to make moves around the margins. This is one of those margin moves to where you may get someone for the minimum that gives you 10 points, 25 minutes per game, some rebounds, and plays really, really good defense while also proving to potentially be a part of your future if he can stay healthy for an entire season. Coming up on Lockdown Warriors, Jonathan Kaminga and the qualifying offer. Will he actually take it? That’s straight ahead. Jonathan Kaminga is going to be on the Golden State Warriors this upcoming season. That’s the last thing we’ve heard. Whether it’s going to be the one plus the one, the one-year deal with the team option thrown in there or the qualifying offer is what we are waiting on at this point. And maybe that a darkhorse team gets involved or the Sacramento Kings up their ante. Whatever it may be, uh, this is just a staring contest at this point. reports are coming out now. The latest from Slater and ESPN, this is a couple days ago at this point. And honestly, it’s been sounding like the same news for about three weeks at this cycle at this point. But the latest, it’s increasingly possible that restricted free agent Jonathan Kaminga may return to the Golden State Warriors on the qualifying offer. Kaminga’s told those in his camp he prefers the qualifying offer to the latest offer that’s on the table from the Warriors. Now, it seems crazy that he would take the qualifying offer for a couple of reasons. One, just the the the fiscal difference doesn’t make sense. I mean, you’re guaranteed what is it 21.5 million, I believe it would be for his first year with the Warriors. 2122, something along those lines. We’re talking 2122 million as compared to 7.9 on the qualifying offer. That’s a difference of $14 million. That is life-changing money for generations. Generations that you would be turning down and leaving it up into the big man’s upstairs or or whatever you want to believe in. Fate’s hands. That’s a lot of money. It’s all I’m going to say. Things happen in life. You never know. I don’t understand how you turn down that situation. Especially Especially when you’re not going to be a warrior long term. Kaminga is not going to be a warrior long term and the fact that the team option is in there, sure, slap in the face, but it’s also proof that they don’t want JK long term because if no one is is taking JK this season in a sign or in a trade rather at the deadline, I would have to think that that option is partially built in there so that they can just say I mean there’s multiple reasons why it would be built in there obviously um for renegotiating purposes when he is traded. to the team. But another reason could be if it doesn’t work out or whatever, you just get rid of him. You know, you don’t need to pick up that secondyear option and you don’t have to deal with any more JK drama. And guess what? He’s a free agent. The same thing as he would have been before with 14 million. Now he can’t pick his team if the Warriors were to trade him and he would hit the free agent market potentially, you know, a year or two years later, whatever it was with his extension. and then you know he’d still be betting on himself at 2425 with a lot of money but it really makes me think if he actually takes the qualifying offer that he is set on playing in Sacramento obviously has a really good relationship with assistant GM BJ Armstrong that could have something to do with it but the fact that it’s you know potentially a $14 million $14 million he’s going to leave on the table to to take the qualifying offer just so he potentially control his own destiny and take him to Sacramento instead of, you know, Miami or or whichever team were to get involved uh at the deadline. It just it’s it’s crazy. It’s crazy to me that anyone would think that way, but hey, you can’t control the situation. All you can do if you’re the Warriors is really there have been no contact it sounds like for multiple weeks at this point. So really all you can do is wonder what his poker face looks like at this point and think whether Jonathan Kaminga is actually going to accept this qualifying offer or not. Because if he accepts the qualifying offer at that point, you should have made whichever trade, any trade, get the first round capital, get something as compared to a disgruntled player that doesn’t want to be on your team that’s taken a qualifying offer for 7.9 million. I mean, maybe there’s the the odd chance that everything works out and he he takes a a Qo and still wants to win an NBA championship and prove his worth and and goes out there and balls and Steve Kerr believes in him and gives him 32 minutes a night. No, that’s not going to happen that way. So, I’m a firm believer that at some point he is going to be the one that caves and takes the Warriors deal. Maybe they up the ante just a little bit. Maybe they put that player option in there and that’s the the sweetener that gets it done. The no trade clause, they put it in there. I I don’t know how this thing is going to be finished. What I do know is it’s mid August at this point. Mid August and nothing has happened. The Warriors the only team in the NBA still mid August that have done nothing this offseason. It’s because we’re waiting on this Jonathan Kaminga situation. And this is the holdup. He says, “Hey, I’ll take my time. I’ll wait until the very last second and uh we’ll sign this qualifying offer. Horrible situation to be in. It’s brutal. This is Locked on Warriors. Appreciate everyone for joining the program today. Free and available wherever you get your audio podcast. Check us out on YouTube. Thank you to our guest, John Carales. And thank you to our audience. Peace.

Al Horford to the Golden State Warriors is still the likely move, even as he still considers retirement. Locked On Celtics host John Karalis joins the program to discuss what the Warriors would get in Horford and whether he’d be a good fit.

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