The Golden State Warriors have been heavily linked to Boston Celtics big man Al Horford since the hours leading up to free agency, but there's been no movement on the veteran in the over 72 hours since the period officially opened.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported earlier on Thursday that Horford was weighing up multiple options, including from the Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers while retirement was also still a possibility. However, a key update late on Thursday should ease the nerves of Warrior fans in relation to Horford's future.
All signs point to Al Horford joining the Warriors
According to NBA insiders Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, "all signs, for the record, continue to point to Al Horford landing with Golden State … eventually." That's a positive update for Golden State fans who have been increasingly warming to the idea of Horford given his own potential impact, along with the increasingly dire state of the free agent center market.
The Warriors identified their need for a veteran stretch five entering free agency, but one of the more prominent options quickly went off the board when former Milwaukee Bucks big man Brook Lopez signed a two-year, $18 million contract with the L.A Clippers.
The Lakers then made their big free agency splash on Wednesday when they signed former No. 1 overall pick Deandre Ayton following his buyout with the Portland Trail Blazers. The Lakers then re-signed athletic big man Jaxson Hayes to a one-year deal on Thursday, perhaps signifying growing pessimism around their own ability to land Horford.
So, what's the hold up then if the Warriors and Horford have mutual interest? Well, it likely stems from the case of Jonathan Kuminga's future as Golden State tries to work out a resolution on their restricted free agent.
As Brett Siegel of Clutch Points cleverly outlined on Thursday, signing Horford to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.7 million) right now would hard-cap them at the second apron and place them in a precarious position when it comes to Kuminga.
"That would complicate things with Kuminga, as having their hands tied with the second apron could allow another team to sign Kuminga to an offer sheet, leaving the Dubs without the ability to match since they would eventually exceed the second apron," Siegel wrote.
So for now it seems like everything is on track for the Warriors to eventually land Horford, but not before they work out exactly what they're doing with the 22-year-old Kuminga.