Al Horford chose to depart the Boston Celtics for the Golden State Warriors last offseason perhaps partially due to financial reasons, but also because he believed the two franchises were going in contrasting directions.
It was supposed to be a gap year for the Celtics in the wake of Jayson Tatum's injury, while the Warriors were one of the best teams in the league last season after the Jimmy Butler trade. Unfortunately for Horford, he couldn't have been more wrong, with the decision surely coming back to haunt the veteran center.
Al Horford's free agency decision is looking worse and worse
With only a quarter of the regular season still remaining, the Celtics are remarkably in position to be a genuine championship contender this season. They've used their second-ranked offense to propel to the second-seed in the Eastern Conference at 41-21, all the while being without their best player in Tatum.
Now Tatum could be on the precipice of returning, and if he can do so at anywhere close to the superstar level he's produced in the past, the Celtics could be on their way to the NBA Finals for the third time in the past five years.
Golden State, on the other hand, are in danger of missing the playoffs altogether. In fact, their growing injury crisis which begun with Jimmy Butler's season-ending torn ACL in January, has many fans wondering whether trying to make the playoffs is even the best course of action.
The Warriors remain as the eighth-seed in the Western Conference, but their hold on that spot is loosening by the game as the L.A. Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers close in behind them, while Steve Kerr's rotation seemingly reduces nightly with rising injury issues.
Al Horford's season has been one of missed opportunity
The frustration for Horford may not just stem from the respective records of the Warriors and Celtics, but because it's one of missed opportunity given there was a brief period in which he and his new team were effective together.
Horford had a rough start to the season and was then sidelined by a sciatic injury, but between his return on Christmas Day and Butler's injury weeks later, he became the perfect fit on a team that looked like it could become a threat.
Horford has remained a key and productive player for Golden State since, but it feels worthless given it's now on a team with a number of young players, and one that looks like it will be a first-round playoff exit at the very best.
If you gave Horford the chance to have the decision over with the benefit of hindsight, not even Warrior fans would begrudge him if he chose to remain at the Celtics where he became a core part of their team in seven of the previous nine years.