It's official...kind of. Al Horford has agreed to a multi-year deal with the Golden State Warriors, though the specifics of the contract still won't be finalized until a resolution on the future of restricted free agent Jonathan Kuminga.
Horford officially departs the Boston Celtics after two separate stints across the past nine years, highlighted by his elusive first championship in 2024 two years after losing to the Warriors in the NBA Finals.
Golden State had clearly honed in on the veteran center as their primary free agency target before the period even began in July, but Horford's arrival in the Bay Area might be just as much to do with Boston's own offseason activity.
Celtics offseason played a role in Al Horford's joining the Warriors
This signing can really be traced back to the fateful Game 4 of the Celtics' second-round series against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Not only did Boston lose that game to go down 3-1 after another dominant regular season, but more importantly franchise superstar Jayson Tatum went down with a devastating torn achilles injury.
The Celtics would go on to lose in six and face the prospect of Tatum being out for the entirety of the 2025-26 season. With an exorbitant payroll already needing to be managed, this was the final nail in Brad Stevens' offseason plans as general manager.
Boston have since reset their books by trading championship veterans Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis, leaving them clearly in a reset year as Tatum undertakes his recovery. According to Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe on Sunday, it was all these factors that played into Horford's decision to join Golden State.
A league source confirms that Al Horford has agreed to a deal with the Warriors. The source says that Jayson Tatum's injury and other departures factored into Horford's final decision, but that it was still quite hard for him to leave Boston, which he considers a second home.
— Adam Himmelsbach (@AdamHimmelsbach) September 28, 2025
Sometimes you've just got to be ready to take advantage of a perilous situation. Horford might have never considered leaving Boston if Tatum hadn't of got injured, but with that and the departures of Porzingis and Holiday, the door creaked open wider and wider for Golden State to sneak in and capitalize.
As the opportunity arose, the Warriors had the perfect pitch as a team whose biggest offseason was wish was to find a significant upgrade at the center position. While Golden State don't necessarily sit in the absolute top rung of title contenders right now, they can offer what many can't -- a starting role on a veteran team striving for one more climb to the mountaintop.
It's somewhat similar to the blockbuster arrival of Jimmy Butler in February. The 36-year-old wasn't the Warriors' first priority, nor was the franchise Butler's No. 1 landing spot, but they simply needed a star and were able to capitalize on what was an increasingly untenable situation at the Miami Heat.
Regardless of whether the Horford signing is more good fortune than good management, the Warriors have got their man and can now look forward to a completely different style of starting center that should give them greater versatility on both ends of the floor.