Al Horford's first season with the Golden State Warriors has been up-and-down, leaving real question marks on whether the veteran center will pick up his player option and return to the franchise for a second year.
Warriors insider Tim Kawakami has offered a worrisome perspective on Horford's future with the team, suggesting it's far from a guarantee that the 39-year-old continues his career in the Bay Area.
Al Horford may not be back with the Warriors next season
With the Warriors not appearing right now like a true championship contender for next season, Kawakami has questioned whether Horford would be eager to pick up that option to return.
"Horford, 39, has been valuable, but how much longer does he want to play here, especially if the Warriors aren’t title contenders? Also, the Warriors already probably have too many key players who are due to miss 25 or more games a season," Kawakami wrote.
Horford's decision on his $6 million player option will play a significant role in shaping Golden State's offseason plans, with uncertainty on all of their center options ahead of free agency. Along with Horford, Draymond Green also has a $27.7 million player option, while Kristaps Porzingis (unrestricted) and Quinten Post (restricted) are both headed for free agency.
If Horford was to opt out and either retire or head to another team, the Warriors could face further pressure to re-sign Porzingis who had an equal season-high 30 points against the Washington Wizards on Monday.
It could also increase the chances of Post returning to Golden State as a restricted free agent, with the second-year big man going for a career-high 22 points on 9-of-16 shooting against the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Al Horford has faced turbulent first year with the Warriors
Despite his advanced age, Horford was a major eventual signing for the Warriors in free agency, but his early stretch with the franchise was characterized by shooting struggles that limited his impact in the opening weeks.
The 5x All-Star then dealt with a sciatic injury, forcing him to miss 11 of 12 games from late November until Christmas Day. Yet ever since his return where he hit four first-quarter triples against the Dallas Mavericks, Horford has been everything Golden State could have envisaged on both ends of the floor.
Unfortunately, Horford's strong player has recently coincided with injury issues elsewhere, leaving him to play with a much younger, and quite frankly worse team than what he would have hoped. The injury bug then struck Horford on Friday against the Minnesota Timberwolves, with a minor calf strain sidelining him for at least one week.