Al Horford's expected signing with the Golden State Warriors continues to be all but confirmed, with the Boston Celtics further signalling the 39-year-old's departure following their latest free agency signing on Tuesday.
Along with trading the only recently acquired Georges Niang to the Utah Jazz, the Celtics also signed former Warrior big man Chris Boucher to a one-year, $3.3 million contract according to ESPN's Shams Charania.
The Celtics have reaffirmed Al Horford's move to the Warriors
Aside from Horford, Boucher was arguably the best remaining free agent big man on the market over a month since the period officially began. The 32-year-old's move to Boston ends a seven-year stint in Toronto, having started his career at Golden State where he played just one game but won a championship while on a two-way contract during the 2017-18 season.
A reunion between Boucher and the Warriors had been floated as a possibility by fans and analysts, but there were no real reports that the franchise was interested. In fact, it went the other way as Marcus Thompson of The Athletic stated that "they (Warriors) never were big fans of him" during an episode of the Warriors Plus Minus podcast last month.
Boucher's best year with the Raptors came in the 2020-21 season where he averaged 13.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, shooting 51.4% from the floor and 38.3% from 3-point range while earning votes for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year award.
The 6'9" stretch big averaged 10.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 50 appearances last season, shooting a solid 49.2% from the floor and 36.3% from 3-point range. His arrival at the Celtics adds to a big man rotation that also includes Nemias Queta, Xavier Tillman and Luka Garza, with that quartet proving that Horford's memorable career with the franchise is over.
Horford, along with the likes of De'Anthony Melton and Gary Payton II, are being continually held up by Jonathan Kuminga's free agency saga. While Horford's official signing with Golden State has been expected for over a month, it can't happen until the Kuminga domino falls which might still be a while away.
The former seventh overall pick continues to resist the contract offers currently presented to him by the Warriors, while the franchise themselves have rejected multiple sign-and-trade scenarios from the Phoenix Suns and most prominently the Sacramento Kings who continue to be most linked to a move for Kuminga.