The Golden State Warriors are still expected to steal Al Horford away from the Boston Celtics despite the 39-year-old being forced to wait by Jonathan Kuminga's currently unresolved restricted free agency.
Horford's value to the Warriors could be immense given his skillset, leadership and likely starting center role, but so too will the Celtics feel his loss that will only get worse once the season gets underway.
Al Horford's departure will leave a major hole at the Celtics
Assuming Horford's arrival to Golden State goes through as seems inevitable, Boston will be left with salt rubbed into the wound and a grim looking center rotation entering next season.
Losing the veteran center would be the third in a trifecta of blows to their big man stocks, much of which has been of the Celtics own doing given their desire to heavily reduce their short and long-term payroll.
Boston moved on from usual starting center Kristaps Porzingis in a three-way trade with the Atlanta Hawks and Brooklyn Nets, while they were simply unable to stop the San Antonio Spurs from luring Luke Kornet away with an enticing four-year, $40.7 million contract in free agency.
It leaves Horford as even more important to the franchise, but the 5x All-Star seemingly has no intention of returning to the Celtics for what's likely to be a gap-year in terms of contention given Jayson Tatum's devastating torn achilles.
"The Celtics certainly could have used Horford heading into next season because of how poor their center position is right now. They don't have a reliable starter at that spot," Ryan Stano of Sports Illustrated wrote on Tuesday.
The Celtics have evidently been preparing for Horford's departure since the start of free agency, yet not in a way that will inspire much confidence among fans. They've signed Luka Garza who hasn't averaged more than nine minutes per game in the last three seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and most recently Chris Boucher who's been a career backup -- albeit a good one -- at the Toronto Raptors.
Combine those two with Neemias Queta and Boston will have to scrounge their center minutes together, with the painful realization of Horford's departure likely to be felt stronger once play gets underway.
With Tatum's injury forcing them out of contention for next season anyway, this isn't a complete disaster for the Celtics necessarily. Yet trading for a starting-calibre big man like Stano suggests will be easier said than done, meaning question marks still remain on their ability to contend going into the 2026-27 season and beyond.