Even for a numbers guy like myself, the numbers are incomprehensible.
$113 million.
That’s not the cost of a Manhattan skyscraper but an Atlanta skyscraper.
Al Horford, the Atlanta Hawks’ 6-foot-10 free agent forward, has agreed to a 4-year, $113-million contract with the Celtics.
The newest Celtic is quite good, no doubt about it, but he’s not great, never has been, never will be.
But everybody seems giddy. You didn’t win megabucks, you spent megabucks.
Welcome to the salary cap explosion era of the NBA.
Horford, who turned 30 on June 3, averaged 15.2 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in the regular season. The numbers dipped to 13.4/6.5/2.4 in the playoffs for an Atlanta team which struggled to beat Boston in six games in the first round then was swept by LeBron James and Cleveland in the East semifinals.
If you are looking for someone to dominate the paint, he’s decidedly not your man.
How many free throws a game do you think “The Boss,” as he is known, attempted last season?
8.2 a game?
6.1 a game?
Try fewer than 1.6! That’s 129 free throw attempts while playing all 82 games. His new teammate, Isaiah Thomas, all 5-foot-9 of him, went to the line four times as often.
The four-time All-Star is a reliable mid-range shooter, which some say make him a perfect fit in Boston. We’ll see.
He’s taking more and more 3-pointers with limited success. Last year he was 88 of 256 for an Antoine Walker-esque .344 3-point percentage. The 256 was a huge increase from his previous high of just 36 treys. That’s often a sign of an older guy shying away from the bruisers in the paint a la Rasheed Wallace.
Who’s to say what anybody is worth when the television contract-fueled salary cap for the 2016-17 season will spike from $70 million to $94.1 million then to about $110 million in 2017-18. That’s almost double from 2013-14 ($56.8 million).
Maybe the former Florida All-American is worth it. Maybe Solomon Hill is worth 4-years, $52 million, too. That’s 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds a game Solomon Hill.
The strange thing about the Horford signing is the euphoria is so closely aligned with widespread pie-in-the-sky hopes from fans and media alike that it will inevitably be followed by bringing in Oklahoma City superstar forward Kevin Durant.
Danny Ainge did it with the Ray Allen trade in 2007 leading to the Kevin Garnett 7-for-1 deal. KG also received a hefty contract extension.
Voila, the New Big 3 was born and 10 months later the C’s were celebrating the franchise’s 17th title … but first in 22 years.
But to bank on that again is sheer folly. That was one of the most brilliant executive performances in modern sports history.
Durant may announce his decision as early as Monday (today). To court him, Boston brought out the big guns … including Tom Brady. Of course, the meeting was at the Hamptons, and we’re not talking the affordable motels or the beach next to Salisbury.
The NBA has become the beautiful people so it wasn’t blue-collar Oklahoma City but blue-blooded Long Island for the wooing of Durant.
Most think he’ll resign with OKC for another year. He and Russell Westbrook can make another run at a title. Then Durant can sign an even larger blockbuster deal a year from now.
I’m not a “feel the Bern” guy wallowing in jealousy over others’ hard-earned success. If Al Horford, Al Pacino, or Al the CEO can make $28.3 million, more power to them.
But is Horford the man the C’s should be giving their $113 million to? The numbers are so crazy I can’t call that the proverbial $64 million question.
But after watching Horford’s pedestrian play in the playoffs, I have a sneaky suspicion we’ll look back and not be so giddy over this signing.
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Follow Michael Muldoon on Twitter at @MullyET.
HORFORD AND LAWRENCE
Al Horford is already popular in Lawrence after visiting Lawrence High on Sept. 24, 2008. He was in the area for the Latin Pride Awards in Boston.
He was born in Puerto Plata in the Dominican to ex-NBA player Tito Horford and journalist Arelis Reynoso. He spent his early years in Santo Domingo before moving to Lansing, Michigan in 2000.
He’s married to singer-actress Amelia Vega, the first Dominican named Miss Universe. They reportedly met in Boston.
ESPN Deportes called him “a Dominican icon.”