Getty Images Al Horford of the Thunder blocks a shot by Kentavious Caldwell-Pope of the Lakers
It was (technically) St. Patrick’s Day but make no mistake about it, Anna Horford, sister of Oklahoma City Thunder and former Celtics All-Star center Al Horford, certainly knows how to stir the pot.
Anna, the host of CLNS Media’s Horford Happy Hour and NBA enthusiast, posted a picture of herself donning a green Celtics t-shirt with the caption “Cheers” accompanied by three green shamrocks and three cheering beer mug emojis.
Anna Horford Triggers Eager Fans By Posting Selfie In A Celtics Uniform
Conveniently posted on Ireland’s St. Patrick’s Day or the Feast of Saint Patrick — one of the biggest drinking holidays in Boston, due to its large Irish community — Horford in a green Boston tee triggered Celtics fans into thinking Al’s reunion with the Celtics is still a possibility.
Cheers 🍀🍀🍀🍻🍻🍻
In the midst of NBA trade SZN and the Celtics (20-20) living that .500-life, Horford is a name that’s been tied with Boston for the past couple of weeks. Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge’s $28.5 million traded player exception has a lot to do with that.
Last week, Yahoo Sports’ Justin Quinn said a reunion between the Celtics and Horford “makes sense.” For starters, there’s the familiarity in what head coach Brad Stevens needs most.
Horford called Boston home for three seasons and thrived, including leading the Celtics to two Eastern Conference finals appearances in three seasons. Al’s even bounced back in a big way with the Thunder, in contrast to his dreadful year with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Boston’s TPE is what makes Horford most attractive, considering Ainge wouldn’t have to take on the tall task of trying to pair contracts to match Al’s $27.5 million deal, for this year. Most of the responses to Anna from the Celtics fanbase were positive, some even replied with selfies of themselves wearing green.
@AnnaHorford Slainte!
In theory, adding Al to this year’s Celtics team would certainly make them better. However, in the long-run, Ainge would have to get very clever in trying to keep the Celtics under with the cap.
With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, and Kemba Walker all signed with the Celtics on max-deals, Horford’s next two seasons will pay him $27 million and $26 million, respectively, for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. Worth noting: the final season of Walker’s deal (2022-23) — worth $37.6 million — is a player-option.
SI’s Chris Mannix On Potential Al Horford Reunion In Boston: ‘I Would Take Him Back In A Heartbeat’
One NBA analyst saying a Horford reunion in Boston is well worth the risk is Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. For Mannix, this proposed move for Boston is a no-brainer.
“We know he fits in Brad Stevens’ system; he can play the 5, he can play a little bit of 4, he can shoot the 3 while he’s done a lot better this year than he did in Philadelphia,” Mannix said via NBC Sports Boston’s Early Edition. “And let’s not forget the Celtics, they wanted Al Horford to come back. They just didn’t want to pay him four years, $100-plus million the Sixers were offering.
“Now he’s got two-and-a-half years left on his contract, around $70 million total on that deal. I would take him back in a heartbeat.”
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