Atlanta Hawks: Addressing the Al Horford Rumors

Ah, rumors. The ancient art of stirring the pot by spreading rumors is a timeless one. Jenny tells Mary to tell Becca to tell Rachel to tell Melissa to tell Carly that you have a crush on Jessica. By the time the rumor gets back to you you’re probably wondering yourself whether or not you actually have a crush on Jessica. Such is the nature of the rumor mill. Juicy information without the verification of whether or not it’s grounded in truth. But, enough about middle school. Let’s get back to basketball.

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This weekend NBA Twitter briefly turned into a middle school hallway. The hot rumor being that the Boston Celtics and Danny Ainge had their eye on Atlanta Hawks starting center Al Horford. That started a flurry of conversation. Would the Hawks really consider trading Horford? Boston has SO many assets how could they pass that up? On the other hand some thought “why would the Hawks EVER consider this so close to the start of the season?”

Former Soaring Down South editor, current Behind the Buck Pass editor and celebrity Hawks fan Adam McGee wasn’t having any of it.

Whatever these Al Horford/Celtics rumors are, I'm not listening Twitter!
— Adam McGee (@AdamMcGee11) September 12, 2015

I don’t blame him. As rumors go this one is pretty ridiculous. Danny Ainge can want Al Horford all day, that doesn’t mean Atlanta would entertain the idea of trading him. As they say, it takes two to tango. I want to wear a suit made of bacon, to be 6-foot-7 and rain three-pointers like Kyle Korver, but some things are just beyond the realm of possibility. It also takes two to send an All-Star to Boston for a couple of mid first round draft picks and Tyler Zeller. That’s just not going to happen. No way, no how. Al Horford is NOT being traded, so don’t let a Twitter rumor get you down.

The rumor may not be as ridiculous as I’m making it out to be, but it’s still not going to go down. There is an alternate universe where trading Horford makes sense for the Hawks, but we currently don’t live in that universe and neither do the Atlanta Hawks. At the end of the season his contract expires and he will become an unrestricted free agent. If it were clear that Horford was not going to consider signing back with Atlanta then trading him for something before losing him for nothing would make sense. We’ll call this the “Kevin Love Scenario”.

That’s not the situation, however. The Hawks are coming off of a 60 win season in which they reached the Eastern Conference Finals. They only lost the most dispensable player off that team in DeMarre Carroll, so they should not be selling off key pieces as if they are a team bound for the lottery.

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Atlanta should and will load up for one more run at the Eastern Conference Finals. Most of the pundits and experts are picking the Cleveland Cavaliers to steamroll through the Eastern Conference, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to happen. Just one injury and the conference opens right back up. The Hawks are a talented team with an excellent culture in place. Trading their franchise cornerstone would only move them backwards.

If Horford is traded this season I will write a rap about Kyle Korver and post it to Soaring Down South. You have my word. Once he hits free agency anything can happen. I’m not saying Horford won’t jet off to a different city next offseason, but rest easy. He’s not being traded.

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