Al Horford

Al Horford
PF/C - 6’10, 245lbs - 32 years old - 11 years of experience

The internet and commentary booths up and down the land are full of both effusive praise for Al Horford, and people claiming Al Horford is underrated. I would argue that a man so emphatically and universally described as being underappreciated is at least starting to be properly appreciated, but there we go, the point stands.

Player Plan: Two years and $59,051,725 remaining, the last year of which is a player option. Becomes extension eligible this year - so offer it.

Al Horford
PF/C, 6’10, 245lbs, 31 years old, 10 years of experience

A star role player who has lost a step defensively, but only one. Horford provided great balance for this Celtics team, defending the interior and perimeter bigs, driving and shooting the ball himself, and enjoying an enlarged playmaking role, his ability to stretch and pass the ball expanding the team's overall playbook. It is a fair question as to whether his cost for non-star, soon-to-decrease production will prove to be prohibitive down the road, especially given that his small forward-like rebounding creates a hole for his team that the Bulls exploited in their two round one wins. That said, that is also a question that can be addressed down the road. For now, he adds a lot.

Player Plan: Three years and circa. $87 million remaining, with a player option for 2019/20. May be a burdensomely large contract in the back end, but keep indefinitely.

In the last two years, Keith Bogans and David Lee have now received DPOY votes, with Bogans's one even laughably being for first place. Meanwhile, in his entire career, Al Horford has never received as much as a third placed vote. I am not about to tell you that Al Horford is the third best defender in the league, but I am prepared to say that, considering the bizarre and frankly nauseous presence of some names that this list seems to attract, it is a travesty that Horford has never received ANYTHING AT ALL. If sports media can't be trusted with their toy, they should have it taken away from them.