Al Horford Finally Opened Up About His Decision To Leave The Celtics And It Felt Like A Shotgun Blast Directly To The Chest

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As exciting as it is that there's a new NBA season on the horizon (1 week away!), and as exciting as it's been to watch the Fun As Shit Celtics so far during their preseason tune up games, there's also a downside that I anticipate is going to be pretty brutal for the entire season.

Even though months have passed and the dust has been settled for a while, one thing that's going to take myself and I'm some fellow Celts fans out there some time to fully adjust to is seeing all the departures from this summer on their new teams. Watching Luka Kornet become a fan favorite already with the Spurs is awesome for him and that fanbase, but terrible for me personally. Their nickname for Kornet/Wemby being "French Vanilla" is absolutely incredible. The fact that they call Kornet "The Big Elote" is awesome. While I'm happy he got a massive $40M bag and is playing in a great organization while being the David Robinson to Wemby's Tim Duncan, that doesn't mean I don't get sad when I see Kornet clips on my timeline of him enjoying his new life. It stings, what can I say.

I feel the same way when it comes to Al Horford and the Warriors. Watching him make his preseason debut and then immediately do Al Horford things felt gross. While nobody could blame Kornet for cashing in given the offer he received, with Al the situations were a little more complicated given his age and how much time he has left as a league. Ever since the decision we hadn't really heard him formally address the depature (his second), until today

Was it hard to read the article through my tears? Maybe. I can't lie, it wasn't exactly the way I was hoping to start my Tuesday, especially once I got to these parts

“I think that where Boston was as a team, even though I called them my home and everything was there for me, they just weren’t in a position to offer me the opportunity that I wanted,” Horford told The Athletic.

For the 39-year-old Horford, who decided to sign with the Golden State Warriors in early October instead of coming back for another season with Boston, the decision was based on several key factors aside from Tatum’s career-altering injury.

“There was two things there,” Horford explained. “I think the financial part was a component, but more than that, it was the winning part of it, trying to contend for a championship. And I think there was a lot of things up in the air — and it just felt like they weren’t in the same, that same vision, obviously, because JT getting hurt, that takes a big toll. So I think at that point I really had to — up until then I was staying in Boston the whole time.”

I wouldn't exactly say any of that was a "shock" per se, but it still stung to hear. Given the Celts' salary situation and the fact that they have to be conscious of the aprons, we all knew they couldn't offer Horford the most money. I don't think anyone should have a problem with Al cashing in one last time, and really it's just the reality of the 2nd apron issues and everything Brad Stevens had to do to get under those thresholds.

Once Tatum got hurt, the idea that Al would maybe take a discount pretty much went out the window, so money was alway going to be a factor, which he clearly confirmed above.

The Tatum part is the tough one for me, though. It pretty much tells us that had Tatum not gotten hurt (and the team still made the moves to get under the apron), that Al most likely stays. As long as Tatum exists and is on the floor, the Celtics are contenders. But when you add up the price plus the fact that Tatum's return is TBD, it's almost as if Al had no other choice but to leave since he wants to compete for a title in his final year/years (which is his right).

To know that up until 3:21 left in the 4th quarter of Game 4 on May 12th that Al Horford was fully planning on coming back and then one misstep is how we got to where we are now is such bullshit. That's a real fucked up move by the Basketball Gods. It was already brutal that they robbed us of that run and then potentially a year of Tatum's prime, but it's now confirmed that it also cost us Al Horford. Guys like KP, Jrue, and Kornet were always going to be cap casualties. With Al, there was still a chance he would stay and ultimately retire a Celtic. But once that turnover/misstep happened in the final minutes of the 4th quarter, that was that.

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Do I think Al will get his ring as a Warrior? It's certainly going to be an uphill battle. They have big name talent, but that talent is old as shit. Last time I checked, the Western Conference is loaded like you read about. What I do know is that Al Horford will most likely be awesome in GS, because that's just who he is. He's essentially the perfect basketball player, even at this stage of his career.

So while I wish him well, hearing him talk about his departure truly was the kick to the dick I definitely did not need.