NBA Rumors: Al Horford ‘Never Really Wanted To Leave’ Celtics As Free Agent

Hindsight is 20/20.

Immediately following his departure from the Boston, Al Horford insinuated things would be “totally different” had he known the Celtics would be signing Kemba Walker to replace Kyrie Irving. His sister, Anna Horford, has suggested the same since he left. Now, the center finds himself back in Boston after being traded from the Oklahoma City Thunder for Walker.

Brad Stevens’ first move as president of basketball operations, bringing the veteran center back to Boston, was discussed by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim Bontempts on a recent episode of “The Woj Pod.” Based on that conversation, Horford seems excited for the chance to come back.

“Horford is certainly thrilled with being back in Boston,” Wojnarowski said on the episode. “He never really wanted to leave, but financially it made sense for him to go do that deal with the Sixers.”

It definitely would be difficult to walk away from the four-year, $109 million deal offered by the Philadelphia 76ers, though that experiment failed miserably before they unloaded his contract on the Thunder.

Of course, money isn’t everything, and had Horford stayed in Boston and provided the veteran leadership and defensive presence it needed the last two seasons, who knows how things would have played out for the Celtics.