The Golden State Warriors have a host of decisions to make this offseason, but they may already have a major signal on the plans of veteran center Al Horford ahead of free agency.
A player that isn't even on the Warriors yet -- potential lottery pick Labaron Philon Jr. -- may have given something away when he mentioned that he saw Horford at the team's training facility during his workout on Thursday.
Warriors get encouraging Al Horford signal on eve of free agency
Along with mentioning Horford, Philon also said that he spoke to Draymond Green, Will Richard and LJ Cryer, offering some perspective on the potential direction of the Warriors when it comes to some of their current players.
"I saw Al (Horford) this morning. He was here all day. He got here early. Just seeing those guys' routines really for me, as a young guy, I feel like that's one of the things I picked up really well to see how those guys come in," Philon said during his post-workout press conference.
Perhaps Horford is simply using the facility because he's still technically a Golden State player, but it would seem strange that he would be around the organization this close to free agency if he was going to opt out of his $6 million player option and join another team (or retire for that matter).
That's especially the case for a player of his stature, age and experience in the league. No one would blame Horford if he was elsewhere with his family on holiday, or just simply away from the organization at this point of the offseason.
If this is truly an indication that Horford is likely to pick up his player option, it would put a major puzzle in place for the Warriors' roster plans, and particularly what was an uncertain rotation up until recent days.
Warriors likely to retain Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford
Not only is Horford expected to return based on this development, but recent reporting also suggests Golden State will re-sign his former Boston Celtics championship teammate, Kristaps Porzingis, on a new deal potentially ahead of free agency.
The Warriors are now eligible to negotiate contracts with their free agents after the completion of the NBA Finals, with NBA insider Marc Stein reporting on Thursday night that talks are progressing between the franchise and the former All-Star.
Given the injury, health and management concerns with both Porzingis and Horford, it will be interesting to see what the Warriors do in terms of a third and potentially fourth center option come free agency.
Add us as a preferred source on Google