Al Horford Reveals Why He Joined Celtics Instead Of Staying With Hawks

WALTHAM, Mass. — The process of recruiting Al Horford to Boston began well before his Atlanta Hawks knocked the Celtics out of the playoffs last season.

Horford, after all, had been on the Celtics’ radar for a while as one of its big-name free agent targets. So, when Boston officially signed the 30-year-old big man to a four-year, reported $113 million contract in July, it symbolized months of hard work by the front office to convince Horford to join the C’s.

Apparently they didn’t need to do much convincing. At the team’s media day Monday, Horford admitted the Celtics were a team that always had caught his eye, especially after Atlanta and Boston’s competitive, six-game series in the first round of last season’s playoffs.

“Even though I was with Atlanta last year and we beat the Celtics in the playoffs, I was very impressed with how hard the guys played, and how good the team could be under Coach (Brad) Stevens,” Horford said. “What I saw, it just really intrigued me.”

Horford said he visited with other teams and also was very close to re-signing with the Hawks. But an opportunity to join the Celtics, with a strong nucleus led by Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder and a bright young coach in Stevens, was too tempting to pass up.

“In the free agency process — at beginning I would say I was really comfortable with Atlanta,” Horford said. “As time went on and I met with the Celtics, it just became real to me. Looking at my career … going into my 10th year, I wanted to be able to be a part of something special and win a championship. And with the type of guys that we have, we have that opportunity.”

The four-time All-Star certainly makes Boston a better team with his ability to stretch the floor on the offensive end and protect the rim defensively. Not that we have to tell that to Celtics fans, who Horford admitted went easy on him during last season’s playoff series to try to get him to come to Boston.

“The fans here, they can get pretty intense,” Horford said. “But I did notice that the fans would say, ‘Are you going to be here next year?’, things like that. I did notice that people weren’t coming at me like in the past. It’s a very smart fanbase and they were kind of aware of the possibility, so they caught me a break.”

Celtics fans now are hoping Horford can return the favor by taking this team to the next level. And while training camp hasn’t even started, the 10-year-veteran already is impressed with his new teammates.

“Just guys coming in here before they needed to be here early in September, working hard in the weight room, on the court,” he added. “We’ve been playing pickup, trying to get acclimated to each other. That’s always good to see. That was a positive sign.”

Thumbnail photo via David Butler II/USA TODAY Sports Images