Al Horford is coming to the Boston Celtics.
After reports that Horford was leaning toward returning to the Atlanta Hawks leaked out Saturday night, it seems the free agent forwardโs decision stopped on a dime and spun the other direction.
Horford broke the news himself on Twitter.
Celtic Pride!!!!!! ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
โ Al Horford (@Al_Horford) July 2, 2016
An important note: There are 18 shamrocks in that tweet. The Celtics will be chasing championship banner No. 18 with Horford.
Yahoo! Sportsโ The Vertical reported Horford will receive a max contract from Boston, while ESPN reported the Hawks just wouldnโt ante up the money needed to keep the four-time All-Star โ who took less overall to join the Celtics.
The move is a major coup for the Celtics, who have pulled out all the stops โ including New England Patriots four-time Super Bowl champion quarterback Tom Brady โ in their pursuit of Kevin Durant and reportedlyย still were meeting with him as this news broke.
UPDATE (12:04 a.m. ET): Jason Glushon, Horfordโs agent, confirmed to ESPN that his client agreed to a four-year, $113 million max deal with the Celtics, with a player option after the third year. ESPN also reported, via league sources, that the Hawksโ final offer to Horford was five years and $136 million โ less than a max deal.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images